TEHRAN: A general of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been killed while “on a mission” in Syria, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.
“General Abolfazl Alijani, a member of the IRGC’s ground forces who was on a mission in Syria as a military adviser, was martyred on Sunday,” the state broadcaster said on its website.
It described Alijani as a “defender of the sanctuary,” a term used for those who work on behalf of Iran in Syria or Iraq, without providing more details of the attack in which he was killed.
Iran says it has deployed its forces in Syria at the invitation of Damascus and only as advisers.
In early August, funeral processions were held in Tehran and other Iranian cities for five IRGC members killed in Syria several years ago, after their bodies were recovered and identified through DNA testing, Iranian media reported.
Back in March, the Guards said that an Israeli attack in Syria killed two of its officers, warning that Israel “will pay for the crime.”
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes inside Syria in recent years, targeting government positions as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters of Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged mounting hundreds of them since 2011.
The Israeli military has defended them as necessary to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war, with the Islamic republic accusing its “sworn-enemy” of carrying out sabotage attacks against its nuclear sites and assassinations of key figures, including scientists.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the ideological arm of the Iranian military and is blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States.
Iran Guards general killed in Syria: state media
https://arab.news/5nkpn
Iran Guards general killed in Syria: state media
Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
- Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia
A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.
Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.
The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.
They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.
The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”
Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.
Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.
