The Quds Force commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria and Lebanon, Hassan Mahdawi (original name Muhammad Reza Zahedi), was killed today (Monday) in an airstrike in Damascus. According to many, this is the assassination of the most senior Iranian figure since the US killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. So who is the man? What are his previous positions? And what effect might the assassination have? Globes is in order.
How was he eliminated?
Aircraft attacked a target near the Iranian consulate in the district of Damascus, when the Iranian media claimed that it was an Israeli operation. Five other people were killed next to him, apparently including his deputy. At least according to reports on state Iranian television, several Iranian diplomats were killed in the attack. “Hossein Akbari, the Iranian ambassador in Damascus, and his family members were not harmed in the Israeli attack,” the Iranian news agency Noor wrote.
What is its importance?
“If the commander of the Iranian brother-in-law who is responsible for Syria and Lebanon is indeed eliminated,” responded the director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Tamir Hayman, “this is one of the eliminations The most important and most significant carried out, perhaps the most important since the assassination of Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force. An interesting point about him is that he grew up next to Soleimani, and they were parallel generals in the Iran-Iraq war.”
According to him, “Mahdawi is the senior commander on the northern front of the Quds Force, in charge of the activation of Hezbollah and the Shia militias in Syria, and in practice the most senior person on the northern front in the event of a war with Israel. It seems that Iran is finally paying a price for being behind most of the offensive activity against Israel (also this which we saw this morning in Eilat)”.
What are your previous positions?
For more than a decade, Mahdavi held the position of commander of the “Sar Allah” base, one of the most important bases of the Revolutionary Guards. The same base trusted the organization for guarding the ruling institutions of the Ayatollah regime, and according to estimates he led with his orders the killing of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in a protest in November 2019. As part of his post, he commanded all Iranian and pro-Iranian forces stationed in Syria and Lebanon. When the current commander of the Quds Force, Ismail Qaani, visited Syria about a year ago, for example, Mahdavi was one of the main figures who accompanied him – including in front of the cameras.
Does harming him affect Hezbollah?
Most likely, yes. Mahdawi is defined, among other things, as the commander of Unit 2000 of the Quds Force, which is responsible for the shipments of ammunition to Hezbollah. Moreover, this is a critical unit both from the point of view of the Iranians and Hassan Nasrallah in the shipments of the precise means, which without a systematic Iranian supply – will severely damage Hezbollah.
How does the elimination affect the Iranian forces in Syria?
According to Iran International, Mahdavi commanded the air defense forces of the Iranian forces in Syria. That is, he was a significant source of knowledge and experience in this arena as well.
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