RETALIATION FEARS
Top Iranian General ‘killed in an airstrike in Syria’ as Tehran vows revenge warning ‘Israel faces a tough countdown’
Iran and its proxy groups in the Middle East pose a serious threat to the West
A SENIOR Iranian general was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Syria, it has been claimed.
And Tehran has vowed to seek revenge, swearing that Israel "will certainly pay for this crime".
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General Razi Mousavi, a high-ranking official in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was killed on Christmas Day according to state media reports.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote on X/Twitter that “Tel Aviv faces a tough countdown", following his death.
An Iranian official told state TV that he was working in the embassy in Damascus, Syria's capital and was struck by an Israeli missile while heading home from work.
Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi dubbed it a "sign of frustration, helplessness and incapacity", on behalf of Israel as he issued the chilling warning that they would pay.
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Israel's IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari declined to comment on Mousavi's death on Monday.
He said: "I won't comment on foreign reports, these or others in the Middle East.
"The Israeli military obviously has a job to protect the security interests of Israel."
The strike comes amid rising tensions between Iran and other players in the region as Israel and Hamas continue their brutal war in the Gaza Strip.
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And Iran-backed rebel groups including the Houthi rebels in Lebanon as well as those in Syria and Iraq have joined Hamas in attacking Israel.
In recent weeks daily strikes from land and air have escalated between Hezbollah and Israel along its border with Lebanon.
Houthi rebels have also attacked countless ships linked to Israel or its allies the UK and US to disrupt trade, even hijacking one entirely with an armed ambush onboard.
US president Joe Biden announced plans to directly intervene in the rebels' ocean attacks after it vowed to continue striking cargo ships in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Just days ago the leader of the Houthi rebels swore to target American warships if Biden ordered any strikes against them.
Iran-backed groups working under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Syria have also attacked US bases where troops live to attack America's support of Israel.
Israel has focused attacks on Iran-linked targets in Syria for years.
Iran's influence there has grown steadily since it backed dictator President Assad in Syria's 2011 civil war.
Two other Iranian generals were killed in Israeli strikes in December, both in Syria.
Three security sources that Mousavi, who died on Christmas Day, was responsible for organising the alliance between Iran and Syria.
A former US ambassador recently spoke to The Sun about the Iran regime and the serious threat it poses to a peaceful world order - even outside of the Middle East.
“Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism and the most egregious, terroristic and destabilising actor on the world stage,” said Mark Wallace, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).
He told The Sun: “It is Iran and not the hidden hand of Iran behind the horrific attacks of October 7 and those that predate it. The dots are well connected.”
Wallace argued the Israel-Hamas war isn’t just being fought between the terror group and Israeli forces.
He believes it is part of a much bigger conflict between Iran and its proxy groups and the West.
Israel has faced repeated international calls to relent in it's attacks on the Gaza Strip as it tries to obliterate terror group Hamas.
Repeated calls from the UN for a ceasefire have been echoed by religious leaders including the Pope and even it's staunchest ally, the US, has warned caution.
But Israeli forces have said that months of fighting lie ahead in southern Gaza, an area densely packed with the majority of the enclave's 2.3 million people who earlier fled the fighting in the north.
With homes destroyed, they are living in crowded shelters and struggling to find food, fuel, water and medical supplies.
Figures released on the death toll from Hamas-controlled Gaza state that 8,000 children and 6,200 women are among the some 20,000 to have died.
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Israel disputes these figures, while US President Joe Biden previously said he had “no confidence” in them.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that Israel has "not been successful” in reducing civilian casualties.
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