Who could be Israel's next targets after killing of Iranian commander?

Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Saturday night, in which he warned Iran and stated he would not detail any Israeli actions against it, Iran International has reported further senior Iranians who Israel might target.

This comes after an airstrike in Syria attributed to Israel killed Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) official in Syria.

Mousavi was killed during an attack that occurred on November 25 near Damascus. He was the commander of the logistics bureau of the Lebanon Corps within the IRGC. Mousavi was instrumental in establishing the Iranian presence in Syria, a key factor in the relationship between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, and the advancement of weaponry to Israel's northern front.

Mousavi communicated directly with the Syrian regime and, through it, promoted Iranian interest in Syrian territory. He was a central factor and initiator, with much experience and extensive connections in the arena. He was entrusted with the execution of most of the transfers of weaponry by land, air, and sea. For example, he would personally oversee the unloading of Iranian passenger flights carrying sensitive weapons for Iranian emissaries in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He was the head of the logistics bureau of the Lebanon Corps (Unit 2250) within the IRGC, which was established in order to carry out and facilitate transfers of weapons and Iranian equipment to Lebanon through Syria.

The unit is given special authorizations by the Syrian regime that include transit permits throughout the country and access to Syrian airports. The Iranian terminal at Damascus International Airport, for example, allows the reception of Iranian passengers together with weapons without the direct supervision of the security forces.

Oftentimes, the unit uses these authorizations in order to transfer weapons while the Syrian regime turns a blind eye and uses the authorizations they themselves have issued. In addition, the logistics bureau is responsible for unloading the cargo intended for the forces at the port of Latakia, e.g., in December 2021, containers carrying weapons were attacked while they were being unloaded by these parties in Syria.

Unit 2250 in the region

Unit 2250 has many logistical capabilities and assets throughout Syria that allow for the transfer of weapons, whose final destination is often Hezbollah in Lebanon. In light of the repeated Israeli attacks, there is no doubt that the unit's transferring capabilities have been significantly weakened; however, it still attempts to advance transfers in Syrian territory under the risk of being attacked.

Unit 2250 works in close cooperation with Unit 4400, Hezbollah's strengthening and cooperation unit led by Haj Fadi, which is responsible for transporting sensitive equipment from Syria to Lebanon.

The Syrian regime allows these transfers of equipment and dangerous weapons to be carried out through the country and gives the unit full freedom of action. It is evident that Israel usually carries out many attacks against these transferal units, and as a result, Syria continues to pay the price for this time and time again.

Additional heads of the logistics bureau include Abdullah Abadi, Mousavi's right-hand man; Zin Shams Abu Andan, a key figure in the bureau and a close associate of Mousavi; Hadi Feiz-Abadi, a senior logistics commander and representative of Unit 190, the weapon-transfer unit in the Quds force headed by Behnam Shahriyari.

Feiz-Abadi recently replaced Meitham Catabi, who coordinated the transfer of weapons together with Unit 190.