Mohammad Reza Zahedi (; 2 November 1960 – 1 April 2024) was an Iranian military officer. A senior figure within the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

(IRGC), he had previously commanded the

IRGC Aerospace Force The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, officially known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air and Space Force (IRGCASF; , acronymed in Persian as NEHSA), is the Iran's ballistic missiles program, strategic missile, air forc ...

and the IRGC Ground Forces, and was commanding the

Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...

unit 18000 Unit 18000 is a division of the Quds Force, the elite extraterritorial arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Led by IRGC commander Ali Hassan Mahdavi, the unit coordinates military activities and logistical support to bolster Iran ...

in Lebanon and Syria at the time of his death. In 2024, Zahedi was killed by an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. According to the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

, he was the only Iranian to sit on the ''

Shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...

'', or guiding council, of Hezbollah. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', he was most likely a critical figure in coordinating Iran's relationship with

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

in Lebanon and the

Assad government Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the one-party rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. From 1971 until its collapse in 2024, it was rule ...

of Syria.

Military career

Zahedi joined the IRGC at the age of 19 and served as a mid-level officer during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

. He led the 44th Qamar Beni Hashem Division from 1983 to 1986 and later headed the 14th ''Imam Hossein'' Division from 1986 to 1991. He was also the commander of the

Thar-Allah Headquarters The Thar-Allah Headquarters (, also spelled as Tharallah or Tharollah Headquarters) is an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command. It is in charge of security for Tehran area. However, it also carries responsibility for territorial security in th ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and had been the deputy of IRGC operations. He was briefly the commander of the IRGC Air Force in 2005. On 21 January 2006, he was appointed as the commander of the IRGC Ground Forces. From 2007 to 2015, he headed the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.

Quds Force

In 2008, Soleimani appointed Zahedi to the position of commander of the Quds Force's Lebanon Corps for a second time. This tenure lasted until his assassination by Israel in 2024. Iran's involvement in the Syrian Civil War on the side of the government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

has been a source of contention for Israel. Irani advisors and Iran-backed fighters have aided in tipping the balance in favor of Assad's government. According to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

, Israeli media had frequently published images of him along with Saeed Izadi, a top Iranian military liaison to Palestinians who was initially rumored to have been killed in the same strike, as the main IRGC-Quds Force officials sought by the country.

Death

On 1 April 2024, Zahedi was killed by an Israeli airstrike that targeted the consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Syria's

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Fifteen others were killed in the airstrike. The strike caused "massive destruction" to the consulate building as well as damage to neighbouring buildings, including the Canadian embassy. Zahedi is the most senior IRGC officer to have been killed since the

assassination of Qasem Soleimani On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was Targeted killing, killed by an American drone strike ordered by U.S. president Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, while travelling to meet Iraqi prime mi ...

by the United States in January 2020. After his death, the

spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs () is an official whose primary responsibility is to serve as the spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran), Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. List :''Source'': See also * Spokespe ...

condemned the attacks and said that the country reserves the right to execute a "decisive response" against the "aggressors" behind the airstrike, though the Israeli government avoided issuing any statements claiming responsibility.

Retaliation

On 13 April 2024, Iran launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel; the Israeli government stated that it intercepted 99% of the Iranian projectiles, but the attack critically injured a child. On 19 April 2024, Israel attacked an Iranian air defense system in response to the drone and missile barrage a week prior.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahedi, Mohammad Reza 1960 births 2024 deaths Assassinated Iranian people Assassinations in Syria Deaths by Israeli airstrikes Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps major generals Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Syrian civil war Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Iran–Iraq War Military personnel from Isfahan Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war Quds Force personnel Targeted killing by Israel Military personnel killed in the Syrian civil war Burials at Golestan Shohada of Isfahan