Damascus, Marking a New Garden of Remembrance of the Iranian Generals

Muhammad Kaif Ul Hassan

A high-ranking Iranian general and a very high-command member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard force, General Syed Razi Moussavi, has been killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike near Damascus. The event took place at a crucial time when the Israeli forces were conflicting on both extensive fronts: the northern front against Hezbollah and the southern front against Hamas in Gaza. The late general was among the closest fellows of General Qasem Solemani, who was killed in an American drone attack on January 3, 2020, at Damascus International Airport. Both generals held a significant position in the Iranian supreme command because of their high status in the Al-Quds force. They were often involved in Middle Eastern politics and wars. Solemani is considered to have played an essential role in the removal of ISIS from the Levant. However, at the same time, he was accused of conducting anti-American activities across the Middle East for the promotion of their pro-Iranian revolutionary cause. This proved to be the reason for his execution, and after his demise, General Moussavi was leading the cause, and the Israelis also neutralized him.

The importance of the Levant for the Iranian high command

The Levant has always been essential for Iran, both strategically and historically. All these happenings have a deep cultural relationship with Iran. Based on this, Iran has always tried to keep its monopoly in the Middle East. Iran became an Islamic republic after the Revolution of 1979, after the demise of the monarchy of Reza Shah Pahlavi. Since then, they have tried to maintain their authoritative position in the Middle East as a symbol of modern Shia identity. By looking at the dynamics of the Levant and Middle East, we understand that Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen are strongholds of Shia Islam, providing Iran with the opportunity to strengthen its position in the region. So, we are looking at how Iran always helped the Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthis in Yemen against the Saudis. So, the region provides Iran with the cultural and religious cause to convert it into a strategic domain by multiplying them for political ease. That is why high-command Iranian generals are always found working in the Middle East and are always the target of pro-American fronts.

Aftermaths of the event

The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, has said that the death of General Moussavi will be avenged, and the revenge for the death of the high-ranking general is the removal of Israel from the world map. Earlier, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, offered a prayer for the deceased general in Tehran. He offered his condolences to the general’s family and said Iran would avenge the loss. Now, we have to wait for the next Iranian move, but till now, Israel has conducted dozens of significant attacks in Syrian territory alongside a bundle of minor attacks. This includes many airstrikes in Aleppo and Damascus.

Meanwhile, pro-Iranian entities are continuously targeting American assets in the Levant. The pro-Iranian Yemeni army is striking the Israeli cargo ships in the Arabian Sea and has captured many Israeli ships until now, forming a barricade for them. This is all because of the formation of the political and strategic monopoly of the Middle East. Although the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran became stable during the previous few months, everything changed earlier. We have to wait till the end of the Israel-Hamas war before reaching any conclusion.

Global context 

The Middle East is essential to the world because of its oil production and control of oil prices by collaborating with other international entities. On the one hand, the world is dealing with the Ukraine-Russian conflict, causing an energy deficit for Europe. Now, this event can fuel the ongoing situation, as seen by the blockage of cargo ships in the Arabian Sea, and if the same happens in the Persian Gulf, its economic consequences would be severe. Iran will surely try to utilize the situation for its political cause, and the killing of a serving general holds a notable position in the broader political arena. On the one hand, Iran is continuously striving to become a nuclear power, and Israel will try its level best to prevent Iran from doing so. Maintaining the balance of power in the Middle East will be a great challenge for the global community. It cannot be done until there is a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine issue because the issue provides Iran with a strategic, social, and religious cause to legitimize its alleged militarized and political activities in the Middle East.

The writer is a student of BS Mass Communication at NUML, Islamabad.