Return of the Words 'Revenge' and 'Severe Punishment' to the Vocabulary of Islamic Republic Officials Following the Killing of IRGC Commanders in Syria

The Israeli airstrike on the headquarters of the IRGC Quds Force commanders in a consulate building near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, which resulted in the deaths of at least seven of these commanders, has once again brought the words 'revenge' and 'severe punishment' back into the language and writings of Islamic Republic officials. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, used the phrase 'severe punishment' stating: 'The ignorant leaders of Israel and their supporters should know that these vile movements will have no effect on the will of the freedom-seeking and justice-demanding fighters of the resistance, and their aggressive and barbaric actions will face severe punishment.' Jala Rashidi Koocheh, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also reacted to the attack on the Islamic Republic's consulate in Damascus, tweeting the necessity of taking 'revenge' and suggesting that 'one of the Zionist diplomatic centers in one of the regional countries, preferably Azerbaijan, should be targeted openly and directly.' The Chairman of the National Security Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly also related the deadly Israeli attacks on Tuesday in Damascus to the recent meetings of Ismail Haniyeh and Ziad al-Nakhalah in Tehran, stating: 'During the recent visit of Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders to Tehran, very good decisions were made, and I believe Israel acted out of anger over the decisions made in Tehran.' Additionally, the Center for the Management of Islamic Seminaries issued a statement condemning the Israeli attack on the 'Islamic Republic's consulate in Damascus' and announced that 'seminarians, scholars, and professors are ready for any kind of sacrifice in the fight against Israel.' The Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, also quoted Hezbollah Lebanon stating: 'This crime will undoubtedly not go unpunished and without revenge from the enemy.' Meanwhile, the official response of the Islamic Republic to this attack was limited to two actions by the end of Tuesday. In the first action, the Deputy Representative of the Islamic Republic at the United Nations described the Israeli attack as a 'criminal act' and stated that the UN Security Council must convene an emergency meeting to address the 'blatant violation of international norms and principles by Israel.' In the second reaction, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic announced that in response to the Israeli attack on the location of the IRGC commanders near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, a 'diplomatic official' from Switzerland was summoned at midnight to convey an important message to the United States. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were also among the countries that condemned the deadly Israeli attack on the IRGC Quds Force commanders' headquarters near the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander of the IRGC Quds Force (the Quds Force branch in Syria and Lebanon), Brigadier General Hossein Aminollah, the Chief of Staff of the IRGC Quds Force, and Major General Haj Rahimi, 'a close friend and deputy of Zahedi,' were among the most significant forces confirmed killed in the Israeli attacks on April 1. Alireza Noorizadeh stated: 'The casualties on Tuesday in Syria were shadows of the commander of the IRGC Quds Force.' The complete destruction of the Islamic Republic's embassy building in Damascus followed the attack. Moments after the attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Syria, the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus resulted in 'diplomats' and three senior IRGC commanders among the casualties. The Iranian ambassador in Damascus stated that Israel attacked the consulate with F-35s and six missiles. The White House confirmed that Biden is aware of reports regarding the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. A senior IRGC member was among the casualties of the Israeli attack; Mohammad Reza Zahedi was the 'commander of the IRGC in Syria and Lebanon.' A 'suspicious aerial target' fell in eastern Israel; media reported it was a drone from 'Islamic Resistance' in Iraq.