Iran has threatened to respond to a suspected Israeli strike in Damascus that killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps members, among them a senior commander.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Yahya Rahim Safavi, said on Sunday that none of Israel’s embassies were safe anymore and that Tehran viewed confrontation with Israel as a “legitimate and legal right.”
Israel has not confirmed it was behind the strike on Damascus. Its leaders have said in more general terms that they are operating against Iran, which backs militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which have been in combat with Israel for the past six months.
The United States is also on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region.
Iran’s remarks come after an Israel airstrike hit their consulate in Damascus, killing at least seven Iranians, including two generals. While Israel has repeatedly targeted Iran-linked assets in Syria over the past few months, this was the first time an attack struck an Iranian diplomatic building.
Israel has been on alert since then, canceling home leave for combat troops, calling up reserves, and bolstering air defenses. Its military scrambled navigational signals over Tel Aviv on Thursday to disrupt GPS-navigated drones or missiles that might be fired at the country.
The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, also known as the Iran–Israel proxy war or Iran–Israel Cold War is an ongoing proxy conflict between Iran and Israel. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, such as the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria, and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists.
The roots of this shadow conflict trace back to the overthrow of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1979. Following the Islamic revolution, Iran’s leaders adopted an anti-Israel stance, aligning themselves with groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine.
