Iranian media reports said that Israeli airstrikes near Aleppo, Syria, in the early hours of Monday, killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general who had been deployed to the country as an advisor.
The Iranian was identified as General Saeed Abyar by Tasnim News Agency, a media outlet affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards. He is believed to be the first Iranian killed by Israel since the two countries nearly went to war in April, after Israel bombed the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, killing several leaders.
Iran responded by attacking Israel with a barrage of 300 drones and ballistic missiles, after which Israel attacked an Iranian military base with a missile.
But since then, the two countries have backed away from direct confrontations, and have faced intense international pressure not to spark a new, broader regional war. Now Iran is embroiled in an internal leadership crisis, making a new wave of attacks on Israel unlikely.
Iran is suffering from the sudden death of its President, Ebrahim Raisi, and its Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, two weeks ago in a helicopter crash. The country is also preparing to hold presidential elections on June 28, with more than 80 candidates, representing a wide range of political factions, registered as candidates.
Tasnim published a picture of General Abyaar, wearing black clothes and standing at a Shiite shrine. His coffin, wrapped in the Iranian flag and accompanied by his picture, was transported to the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in Damascus. Pictures showed on social media.
General Abyar was a member of Iran’s Quds Force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guard that largely operates in other countries. He’s been in Syria since 2012, when he was They were deployed to help the government in Damascus fight a civil war with opposition forces and Islamic State terrorists.
The Quds Force now uses Syria as a regional headquarters to coordinate and arm regional militia groups known as the “Axis of Resistance,” including in Lebanon, Iraq, and the West Bank.
Tasnim news agency reported that Israel attacked several targets on the outskirts of Aleppo on Sunday night and Saturday morning, killing 17 people and wounding 15 others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that among the dead were Iraqis, Syrians, and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Lebanese Hezbollah. The group said the target appeared to be a copper factory and a weapons warehouse.
Iran’s interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, a militant with close ties to the regional militia, visited Beirut on Monday. There, he held meetings with senior Lebanese officials and senior Hezbollah members, according to Iranian media.
Mr. Bagheri said in a press conference in Beirut that Israel was a source of instability in the region, and stressed that Iran and the regional armed groups it supports are “a source of stability and peace.”
Bagheri, who led the Iranian delegation in several rounds of secret talks with the United States in Amman about the war in Gaza and other regional issues, said that Tehran and Washington continued to exchange messages after Raisi’s death.
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