07/04/2024
A top military commander on Saturday renewed Iran's promise to retaliate after an airstrike earlier this week widely blamed on Israel destroyed Iran's Consulate in Syria, killing 12 people, including two elite Iranian generals. General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's joint chief of staff, told mourners gathered for the funeral of General Mohammad Reza Zahedi that Iran will decide when and how to stage an "operation" to take revenge. Zahedi was the highest-ranking commander slain in Monday's attack.
"The time, type, plan of the operation will be decided by us, in a way that makes Israel regret what it did," he said. "This will definitely be done." The attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound was a significant escalation in a long-running shadow war between the two archenemies, and Israel has been bracing for an Iranian response. In all, 12 people were killed in the strike: seven Iranian Revolutionary Guard members, four Syrians and a Hezbollah militia member.