Response to the Killing of Saleh al-Arouri: IRGC Emphasizes 'Strategic Patience'

On Wednesday, January 3, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement accusing Israel of being involved in the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior member of the Hamas militia in Lebanon. The statement declared that this event would not lead to a 'strategic error' in the calculations of what they refer to as 'resistance.' It also emphasized that the 'strategic patience of the resistance and Hezbollah in Lebanon' would not deviate from 'the realm of rationality and logic.' Iranian officials use the term 'resistance' for their militia and proxy groups in the Middle East, some of which are listed as terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, Hamas and the Islamic Republic have accused Israel of being responsible for the drone attack that led to Saleh al-Arouri's death, but Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack. The Hamas militia is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Israel, and several other countries. Previously, following the killing of Reza Mousavi, a senior IRGC commander responsible for supplying arms to pro-Iranian militants in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian officials had threatened to retaliate, attributing the attack to Israel. In this context, Kamal Panjasi, the Persian-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated in an interview with Voice of America that while he refrained from confirming or denying Israel's involvement in the killing of Reza Mousavi in Syria, any attack on Israel's borders would face a decisive response from the Israeli army. The Islamic Republic had also announced 'harsh revenge' in response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, in Iraq in 2019 following a U.S. drone strike. Subsequently, the IRGC conducted a missile attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase, where U.S. forces were stationed. However, at the same time, the IRGC shot down two missiles at a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran, resulting in the crash and the deaths of all on board. Jamsheed Barzgar, a political analyst, believes that the Islamic Republic has always taken 'harsh revenge' on Iranian citizens. Regional reactions to the killing of Saleh al-Arouri continue, with reports of Israel's readiness for potential conflict with Hezbollah. An Israeli drone attack in the suburbs of Beirut resulted in the death of a senior Hamas official. Israel has not accepted responsibility for the killing of the senior Hamas leader, while Ismail Haniyeh threatened Israel with 'revenge.'