Iran Renews Vow of Vengeance at Annual Anti-Israel Rallies

rferl.org – Iran on April 5 renewed its pledge to avenge the deaths of seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria.

A building said to house the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus was destroyed on April 1 in air strikes that Tehran blames on Israel.

Israel, as per its usual policy, has not commented on the strike.

“No move by any enemy against our sacred system [the Islamic republic] goes unanswered,” the IRGC’s chief commander, Major General Hossein Salami, said in a televised speech during Al Quds (Jerusalem) Day rallies in Tehran. The annual demonstrations are held on the last Friday of Ramadan and are marked by pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli rallies.

The rallies also served as a funeral for the dead IRGC officers, including Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

As is customary, state television provided wall-to-wall coverage of the nationwide demonstrations. Protesters were seen carrying images of the IRGC officers and banners with the slogans “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”

Photos released by state media showed demonstrators burning American flags and stomping on the likeness of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this week vowed that Israel would be “punished by our courageous men” — a remark that some analysts say indicates Tehran will directly act against Israel rather than rely on its regional allies and proxies.

Moshen Rezaei, a former chief commander of the IRGC, told the hard-line Tasnim news agency on April 5 that a “decision has been made” about retaliating against Israel and “will certainly be implemented.” He did not elaborate.

The Islamic republic is under pressure from its hard-line support base to avenge the dead officers.

At least 18 Iranian IRGC members, including key generals, have been killed in suspected Israeli strikes in Syria since early December.