(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Iranian Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, killed in an April 1 Israeli airstrike, played a “strategic role” in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel, according to a report released on April 14.
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader, Zahedi, and six other members of the Iranian regime, including Zahedi’s deputy Gen. Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, all were killed by an Israeli airstrike that targeted and struck the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. Zahedi commanded units in Syria and Lebanon.
Two days after his death, Zahedi was praised by the Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces, which has close links to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his essential role in “planning and executing” the Oct. 7 attack. Following the attack, Khamenei denied that Iran was involved in the attack. However, reports citing key sources in Hamas and Iran noted that Iran knew about the attacks.
The Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces’ description of Zahedi is the “clearest admission of Iran’s involvement” in the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, according to the dissident news organization Iran International.
The U.S.-based Middle East Media Research Institute said the statement “is essentially an official admission” that Iran helped with the “planning and execution” of the Oct. 7 attack.
Iran vowed to retaliate after Zahedi’s death with the “same magnitude and harshness,” and his son stated that Iran should not let his father’s death go “unanswered.”
Iran responded to Israel’s April 1 airstrike on April 13 by launching about 170 drones and 120 missiles at Israel, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari. With the help of the United States and Israel’s other allies, the “vast majority” of Iran’s drone and missile strikes were intercepted.
According to an Iranian army official, Israel’s Nevatim airbase was the target of the strikes because that is where Israel’s April 1 airstrike that killed Zahedi was launched.
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