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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi: Israel will "certainly pay for this crime"

Photo: Iranian Presidency / AFP

Iran has threatened Israel following the death of a general of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Syria. General Sejed-Rasi Mousavi was killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday. According to the New York Times, he is said to have helped monitor the delivery of rockets and other weapons to the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.

While Israel has not yet issued a statement, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has announced retaliation, saying Israel will "certainly pay for this crime," Raisi said. The Revolutionary Guards also announced retaliation.

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General Rasi Mousavi: Suspected Killed by Israeli Airstrike

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-/AFP

Iran's ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, told Iran's Mehr news agency that Mousavi's house had been hit by three missiles. "The building has been destroyed," the diplomat said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Israeli attacks on positions in the area used by Iranian groups and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

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According to Tehran: Iranian Revolutionary Guards General Killed in Israeli Attack in Syria

Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik threatened Israel on Tuesday, according to the Tasnim news agency: "The Zionists (Israel) must be prepared for the consequences of their crime... And they're going to be painful." With the attack, Israel not only violated the territorial integrity of Syria, but also further escalated the already tense situation.

The Israeli military said on Monday evening that it does not comment on foreign media reports. The New York Times reported that Israeli officials had admitted that they were preparing for possible Iranian retaliation.

Israel is attacking targets in Syria to prevent Iran from expanding its military influence there with the help of militias. Both Lebanon and Syria are neighboring countries of Israel. Israel feels threatened by the rocket arsenals of Hezbollah and other militias. For Tehran, Syria is one of Tehran's allies in the fight against Israel, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Islamist Hamas. According to U.S. intelligence, Iran also supports the Houthi militias in Yemen and militias in Iraq.

sol/dpa/AFP