At fifteen minutes past midnight on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian dragged the Swiss embassy’s charge d’affaires to deliver a message to the Biden administration. The Swiss embassy is the protector of US interests in Iran and occasionally serves as the whipping boy for America’s sins. In this case, as Amir-Abdollahian later tweeted, “An important message was sent to the American government as a supporter of the Zionist regime. America must be held responsible.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had a similar take on the assassination attack: “Following the irreparable defeats of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian Resistance and the resistance of the people of Gaza, the Tel Aviv regime carried out airstrikes on the consulate building of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus. Seven of the IRGC military advisors were martyred.”
Read: Alleged Israeli Strike Kills Senior IRGC Quds Force Chiefs in Damascus
Update: According to Syrian TV, the building targeted by Israel was the Islamic Republic’s consulate in Damascus. IRGC commander General Zahedi, responsible for ensuring the security of the capital against popular uprisings, was killed.
About time.
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) April 1, 2024
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights updated this figure, reporting late on Monday, “The number of people killed under the Israeli strikes on the building of the Iranian Embassy has risen to 11: Eight Iranian people including seven commanders, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and three members, one of whom is Lebanese and two are Syrians.”
You have to hand it to those Zionists in Tel Aviv, after all the defeats they’ve been suffering from the resistance of the people of Gaza, to be able to pinpoint a shot on Iran’s terrorist headquarters in a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy, and kill only bad guys, no collateral damage other than collapsed walls – that’s some Zionism.
The targeted elimination of IRGC and Quds Force leadership personnel in Damascus today is a significant blow to Iran’s operational and strategic hierarchy in both Syria & Lebanon. It’s a message not only to Khamenai and the despotic Ayatollahs in Tehran, but also to all of… pic.twitter.com/J6Y3W7wXh2
— Eric Schorr (@EJSchorr) April 1, 2024
Among the dead was General Mohamad Reza Zahedi, 65, head of the Quds force, who managed Iran’s arms supplies to militias in Syria and Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah. According to some sources, Zahedi was second only to Hassan Nasrallah in the hierarchy of Hezbollah. Also killed: Generals Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Hossein Amanollahi, and four high-ranking IRGC officers: Seyyed Mahdi Jelalati, Mohsen Sedaghat, Ali Agha Babaei, and Seyyed Ali Salehi Rouzbehani. They’re all presumably currently seeking comfort in the arms of 504 virgins.
Speaking of Tel Aviv Zionists, on September 10, 2023, Mossad chief David Barnea used a distinctly undiplomatic language during an appearance at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) in Herzliya in which he warned against the transfer of weapons from Russia to Iran that could “endanger our peace.” Barnea’s message was unusually direct and severe and addressed not only Iran but also the United States, Russia, and the international community in general. Such a speech had never before left the lips of a Mossad chief since the establishment of the state.
Barnea made it clear to the US and Russia that Israel and Mossad will not hesitate to act to curb terrorism and the Iranian nuclear program, even if these actions are against the policies and interests of the US, Russia, and the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which oversees Tehran’s nuclear program.
And then Barnea issued the threat that eventually turned into numerous assassinations of Hezbollah and Iranian agents in Lebanon and Syria, and on Monday reached the top of Iran’s operation in the area:
“So far we have only reached the activists and commanders responsible for carrying out the actions. I say from this stage that harming an Israeli or a Jew in any way, and I emphasize in any way, will lead to actions against the Iranians who launched the terrorists and also against the decision makers – from the operational level to the echelon that approved the operation, and to the terror component (a clear reference to the IRGC), and I mean it. These costs will be exacted with great precision in the depths of Iran, in the heart of Tehran.”
This, folks, is why the poor Swiss charge d’affaires was dragged from bed after midnight. The decision-makers in Tehran are scared.
But even reports like this one, about assassinations and destruction, still offer some humor. The IRGC completed its statement about Monday’s attack, saying, “The Iranian advisors, who are present in Syria at the official invitation of the Syrian government, have played an important role in helping the Syrians fight terrorism and help establish peace, stability, and lasting security in this country.”
Where is SNL when you need it?
According to SOHR, since January 1, 2024, Israel has exterminated (Yes, reader BW, we occasionally prefer “exterminated” over “eliminated”):
21 Iranian members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
20 members of the Lebanese Hezbollah.
12 Iraqi persons.
25 Iranian-backed Syrian militiamen.
19 Iranian-backed non-Syrian militiamen.
38 regime soldiers.
