Bloomberg: Attack on Islamic Republic Consulate Building in Damascus Dismantles Entire IRGC Command Structure in Syria

Bloomberg television network revealed that in an attack attributed to Israel on the Islamic Republic's consulate in Syria, the entire command hierarchy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and those responsible for activities in Syria and Lebanon were killed. The report states: "These senior officers were vital for Hezbollah's operations in the region." According to reports, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy, Mohammad Hadi Rahimi, along with other officers who were killed, were confident that the consulate building adjacent to the embassy was the "safest" place in Damascus and that Israel would not dare to attack this location. Before the airstrike on the consulate building in Damascus, it was planned for the residence of the ambassador and consul to be moved to a new apartment complex on the same street, where two brothers of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, also live. However, moments before the attack, senior IRGC officials in Syria were having a meeting on the second floor of the consulate building and decided to stay at that location. The Islamic Republic is examining Syria's role. The attack on the Islamic Republic's consulate in Syria for the first time prompted the Islamic Republic to respond directly and attack Israel. Immediately after this incident, the Islamic Republic became suspicious of the involvement of groups in Syria in several cases of IRGC personnel being killed in this country over the past few years. A Syrian political refugee opposed to the Assad regime claims to have spoken with an Iranian official. The Islamic Republic's suspicion is focused on eighteen commanders who were assassinated in a short period in attacks attributed to Israel. According to this Syrian refugee, after the assassination of Reza Mousavi in Syria in December 2023, joint investigations began between the two countries to trace a possible security breach. However, at one point, the Islamic Republic decided to conduct an independent investigation with Hezbollah's participation due to concerns about Syrian intelligence's involvement in the investigation process. This independent investigation concluded that the security breaches leading to these attacks were covered by high-level political and security protection, and it is unlikely that Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, was unaware of them. The refugee also added that what heightened the Islamic Republic's suspicion was that Hezbollah agents who were assassinated in Syria were linked to Syrian security services, and their assassinations were only possible through espionage using advanced technology.