Israel Assassinates Iranian Commander in Syria – Who is Gen. Mousavi

December 25, 2023

Assassinated Gen. Sayyed Razi Mousavi (L) with Iranian military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, also assassinated by Israel in 2020. (Photo: via Tasnim)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Gen. Sayyed Razi Mousavi, the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria, was assassinated in Damascus on Monday, the Iran Tasnim News Agency reported.

According to Tasnim, quoting Iranian sources in Syria, “the Zionist regime fired three missiles from the occupied Golan targeting Gen. Mousavi in the Zeinabiyeh area of Damascus.”

For its part, the Turkish Anadolu News Agency cited Syrian media as reporting on “a series of Israeli attacks in the area, the sound of which reverberated widely in the suburbs of the capital.”

Who is Gen. Mousavi?

Tasnim said Gen. Mousavi was one of the oldest IRGC military advisers serving in Syria and one of the close companions of slain military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The IRGC issued a statement in Persian about the killing of the top Iranian general. It read in part: 

“(We) inform the Iranian nation that hours ago, in the criminal missile attack of the Zionist child-killing regime, Brigadier General Sayyed Razi Mousavi, one of the veteran military advisers of the IRGC in Syria, was martyred. 

“Martyr Mousavi was one of the comrades of General Martyr Haj Qasem Soleimani and responsible for supporting the resistance front in Syria.

“(We emphasize) that the usurping and savage Zionist regime will undoubtedly pay the price for this crime.”

Soon following the Hamas military operation in southern Israel and the deadly Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, clashes erupted between Iran’s allies in the region and Tel Aviv. 

Daily but contained clashes took place at the southern Lebanese border between the Resistance group Hezbollah, a major ally for Tehran, and the Israeli occupation army, leading to scores of dead and wounded on both sides. 

Though Tehran has repeatedly asserted that it has no control over its allies in the region, who include the Ansarallah movement in Yemen, Israel and the United States often accuse Iran of orchestrating the action of its regional ‘clients.’ 

The assassination of General Mousavi came only hours after Washington accused Tehran of attacking an Israeli ship in the Indian Ocean. 

Tehran is a strong supporter of the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza but has not engaged directly in the war, which has, thus far, killed over 20,000 Palestinians in less than three months. 

Israel is keen to widen the scope of the war, analysts say, thus to pressure Washington to engage directly in military strikes on Iran. 

Military experts warn that direct Iran’s involvement will lead to a much larger regional war, which will worsen an already horrific situation in Gaza.

(The Palestine Chronicle)