Israeli army to step up recruitment as Iran vows retaliation over commander's death

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army said Wednesday that it had decided to consolidate and recruit reserve personnel for its air defense system after Iran vowed to retaliate over the assassination of a senior member of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria this week.

In a brief statement posted on its X account, the army said that as part of its assessment of the situation, “it has been decided to reinforce and enlist reserve soldiers into the air defense system.”

Israel's Channel 12 said the army's statement came against the backdrop of threats from Iran to retaliate following the assassination of Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, along with other military advisers in an airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.

“The estimation in Israel is that Iran will attempt, through its branches in the Middle East, to attack Israel from Yemen, Syria and Lebanon,” it added.

The channel said the threat from Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday against Israel and his assertion that Israel “will regret” its actions has raised a state of extreme alertness within the security establishment, fearing Iranian retaliation.

It pointed out that “a state of alert has been raised in various divisions of the Israeli army as part of preparations for (the launch by Iran of missiles and drones) towards Israel, where fighter jets are on high alert, including readiness to carry out interception operations.”

On Monday, Iran announced that the consular section of its embassy in Damascus had been hit by an Israeli missile attack, while the IRGC reported the killing of seven of its members, including senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

While Israeli army radio issued a statement denying the targeting of the Iranian consulate, it claimed that a nearby building “serving as a military headquarters for the Revolutionary Guard” was struck.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala