Razi Mousavi ( fa, رازی موسوی; 1963 – 25 December 2023) was an Iranian

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

serving in the

IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

's Quds Force. He was killed by an Israeli airstrike in

Sayyidah Zaynab Sayyidah Zaynab ( ar, السيدة زينب, as-Sayyidah Zaynab; meaning "Lady Zaynab"), commonly known as Sitt Zaynab ( ar, ست زينب), is a town in the Rif Dimashq Governorate of Syria, south of Damascus, the national capital. With a popula ...

, Rif-Dimashq, Syria during the

Israel–Hamas war An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. On that day, Palestinian militant groups launched 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, a surp ...

. At the time of his death, Mousavi was described as Iran's most influential military commander in Syria.

Military career

Born in 1963, Mousavi served in Syria under the IRGC's elite unit, the Quds Force, from the 1980s, facilitating the transfer of arms and funds to the Lebanese paramilitary group

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

. In 1990, he assumed the role of the head of the Iranian logistical division in Syria, known as Unit 2250. Throughout the Syrian Civil War, Mousavi faced multiple assassination attempts orchestrated by Israel.

Death

Mousavi was killed on 25 December 2023, in a targeted Israeli airstrike at his residence in

, south of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, amid the Israel–Hamas war. Mousavi's assassination marked the highest-ranking killing of a senior Iranian military official since the targeted assassination of Qasem Soleimani, until the subsequent killing of Mohammad Reza Zahedi in April 2024.

Reactions

Hours after the incident, the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

said in a statement that, "Undoubtedly, the usurping and barbaric

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

regime In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...

will pay for this crime." Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi called Mousavi's killing "a sign of the Zionist regime's frustration and weakness in the region for which it will certainly pay the price". Syrian foreign minister

Faisal Mekdad Faisal Mekdad ( ar, فيصل المقداد; born 1954) is the Syrian Foreign Minister and former Permanent Envoy to the United Nations. Life and education Faisal Mekdad was born in the village of Ghasm in Daraa Governorate in 1954. He graduate ...

also condemned the attack.

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

said in a statement that "the assassination of Mousavi in Syrian territory is a crime, violation of Arab

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

and it's a cowardly attack hichthreatens the security and stability of the entire region". In a statement,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

called Israel's action "clear, shameless aggression and crossing all limits." Palestinian Islamic Jihad described Israel's

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of Mousavi as a "cowardly crime".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mousavi, Razi 1963 births 2023 deaths Assassinated Iranian people Assassinations in Syria Deaths by Israeli airstrikes Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Syrian civil war Targeted killing by Israel Quds Force personnel Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps brigadier generals People from Zanjan, Iran