Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. AP photo
In a statement, Mr. Raisi said that Israel “will certainly pay the price for this crime,” The Times of Israel (TOI) reported.
“There is no doubt that this action is another sign of frustration and helplessness,” Mr. Raisi said in the statement.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Monday that General Razi Mousavi was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Damascus suburb of Sayida Zeinab.
TOI reported that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari refused to comment on the airstrike. TOI also reported that Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on social network X that “Tel Aviv faces a difficult countdown” and said Mousavi “fought bravely for many years… to ensure the security of Iran and the region.”
The attack took place as tensions on Israel’s northern border remained high, between Israel and Hezbollah.
Mousavi is said to be a close associate of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020. He is said to be responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Iran and Syria and are believed to be involved in supplying weapons to Hezbollah, TOI reported.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have only grown higher in the past two months when Israel bombed Gaza in response to the group’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Fears that a wider war could break out have resurfaced in the wake of the war in Gaza, where Hezbollah has fired rockets into northern Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also disrupted shipping across the Red Sea in another sign of the risk of expanding war.
