Israel must ‘await response’ after military adviser’s killing in Syria: Iran’s top commander

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran’s top military commander has warned that Israel "must wait for a response" following the killing of a military adviser in northern Syria earlier this week.

Israel "will pay for the blood" of IRGC serviceman Saeid Abyar, General Hossein Salami, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said in a statement published by state media on Wednesday.

"The child-killing Zionist criminals should bear in mind that they will pay the price for the pure blood shed in this crime. They (Zionists) should await (Iran’s) response," the IRGC commander warned.

Abyar was killed in an airstrike in northwestern Syria near Aleppo on Monday. Iran blamed Israel for the attack.

The strike occurred more than two months after an attack on the Iranian Consulate in the Syrian capital that killed seven IRGC officers, including two high-ranking commanders responsible for Syria and Lebanon.

General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a veteran commander who previously commanded the IRGC’s ground and air forces and served as the deputy commander of the IRGC’s military operations, was among those killed in that attack.

Although Israel did not claim responsibility, Iran accused Tel Aviv and warned of a stern response.

Days later, Iran carried out its first direct attack on Israel, dramatically escalating tensions between the two regional arch-foes who do not share political or diplomatic ties.

General Salami said the slain IRGC adviser, who belonged to the central Alborz province, was part of Iran’s advisory mission to Syria.

The IRGC commander said the adviser "will inspire the revolutionary youth forever."

In January, five IRGC military advisers were killed in an attack on a four-story building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus. Iran blamed Israel for the attack.

Weeks before that, a similar attack killed senior IRGC commander Sayed Razi Mousavi in the suburbs of Damascus.

Mousavi was a veteran IRGC military adviser who served in Syria and was described as one of the close companions of Iran's slain military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.