After Damascus strike, Iran’s goal: Isolate Israel, deter the US - analysis

After Iran has been signaling about “punishing” Israel for almost a week since the Monday airstrike that killed Mohammed Reza Zahedi, an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general, Tehran appears to have set a course on its messaging and response.

Iran’s regime has a message for the US, Israel, and the region. The message is this: Iran wants to punish Israel, and it wants America to be deterred.

Washington said on Tuesday that it was not involved in the airstrike, which hit a building next to the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Tehran views that as an attack on Iranian soil and a major breach of the concept of consulates being off-limits from attacks.

The Iranian Revolution took place amid the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran and the taking of hostages by the regime, but Iran apparently doesn’t see that as being a similar event.

On Friday and Saturday, the IRGC continued to say it would respond. It claimed that the Quds (Jerusalem) Day event showed that “the issue of Palestine remains the first issue of the Muslim world and that of the awakened non-Muslim societies. It reaffirms the righteousness of the Palestinian people including the oppressed Gazans.” READ MORE