Iran vows to keep fighting Israel after general’s death
Tehran threatens to punish Jewish state following funeral procession of a top commander killed in Syria strike
Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders said Israel will be punished for killing one of its generals in a January 18 airstrike in Syria that also killed six Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.
Nasser Soltani said “Israel will certainly pay for what it did.” He spoke during a funeral ceremony Wednesday for Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ali Allahdadi, who will be buried in his hometown of Sirjan in southeastern Iran on Thursday.
Soltani was quoted by the state TV as saying that Allahdadi was “martyred while performing his advisory mission” in Syria.
Mourners stomped on and burned Israeli flags at the ceremony, which was also attended by IRGC head Mohammed Ali Jaafari.
Jaafari said they would continue to battle Israel until “the disgraceful stain” was removed, according to Iran’s Tansim news website.
Iran and Hezbollah, who are allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, blamed Israel for Sunday’s airstrike in the Golan Heights.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the incident, but did ramp up alertness along its northern border, deploying Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and canceling leave for some soldiers in anticipation of a possible retaliatory strike by Hezbollah.
The strike reportedly targeted a group of Hezbollah and Iranian agents in the area to set up a missile base near the border with Israel, Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Tuesday.
Among those killed alongside Allahdadi were Hezbollah commander Jihad Mughniyeh, son of late Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh and head of the Shiite group’s operations in the Syrian Golan Heights, and Mohammed Issa, another senior Hezbollah officer.
According to foreign media reports, Jerusalem has carried out several airstrikes in Syria since the revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011.
Most of the strikes have targeted sophisticated weapons systems, including Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles and Iranian-made missiles, believed to be destined for the Lebanese terrorist group.
