Iran Official Vows to Take Revenge on Israel for Shateri’s Killing

Hojatoleslam Ali Shirazi, the supreme leader’s representative to the Quds Force, said Iran will take revenge on Israel for the killing of a Quds Force general in Syria, Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA reported today.

Shirazi made the remarks on Friday night during a speech at Hosseinieh Mousa in Tehran. He was referring to the death of Quds Force Brig. Gen. Hassan Shateri (aka Hesam Khoshnevis) during an Israeli attack in Syria. Iran has said that “Zionist mercenaries” have martyred Shateri on his way from Damascus to Beirut.

“Our enemies should also know that we will quickly get revenge for (the death of) Haj Hassan (Gen. Shateri) from the Israelis, and the enemies cannot shut off the Iranian people with such stupid acts,” Shirazi said. (ISNA, 16 February)

File photo: Hojatoleslam Ali Shirazi, the representative of Iran’s supreme leader to the Quds Force. (Al Arabiya) 

Latest Photo of Gen. Shateri

An undated photo of Quds Force Brig. Gen. Hassan Shateri published by mashreghnews.ir, showing the general who was killed during an Israeli attack in Syria kissing the hand of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, is shown next to Khamenie, along with other IRGC general officers saluting the kiss!

The bottom photo shows IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, front row in uniform, and Quds Force Commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, behind Jafari in black civilian suit, at the funeral of the late Hassan Shateri. 

Photo credit: 
Top: Nouri/ABNA/AhlulBayt/mashreghnews.ir. 
Bottom: Dehghani/Fars News Agency  

Funeral for Quds Force General Held in Tehran

Senior Iranian officials and clerics today led mourners at a funeral for Brig. Gen. Hassah Shateri of IRGC’s Quds Force. Gen. Shatari was reportedly killed during the Israeli attack on a convoy in Syria neat the Lebanese border. The truck convoy was carrying sophisticated Russian-made S-17 anti-aircraft missiles for delivery to the Hezbollah in Lebanon.

At the funeral, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the killing as a “terrorist act.”

Gen. Shateri was a military engineer during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq and later worked in Afghanistan. Most recently he was reported to have headed the Iranian Committee for the Reconstruction of Lebanon. (IRNA, 14 February)

Photo credit: Funeral of Brig Gen Hassah Shateri of IRGC’s Quds Force (Fars News Agency)

Quds Force General Was Killed During Israeli Air Raid on Convoy

The opposition's Syrian Free Army announced today that the Iranian Brig. Gen. Hassan Shateri (aka Hesam Khoshnevis) who was reported killed in Syria was among the casualties of the Israeli air attack on a convoy near the Syrian-Lebanese border on 30 January. (BBC, 14 February)

News agencies reported at the time that the truck convoy was carrying sophisticated Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles from Syria intended for delivery to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Shateri was a general officer at IRGC’s Quds Force and the first Iranian general killed in the Syrian conflict.

File photo: Brig. Gen. Hassan Shateri, of IRGC’s Quds Force, was killed in Syria on 30 January. (Photo: Press TV)

Note: In the early version of this post, the Syrian Free Army had been referred to as the Syrian Army. We apologize for the error. 

Quds Force General Killed in Syria

First Iranian General Killed in Syrian Conflict

Lebanon’s al-Manar TV today reported that a senior commander of IRGC was killed in recent days in Syria. The television channel run by the Hezbollah did not disclose the name of the slain commander. Iran’s pro-government news website mashreghnews.ir, however, identified the Iranian officer as IRGC Brig. Gen. Hassan Shateri, a Quds Force commander. The website said that the general was in charge of an Iranian agency responsible for “rebuilding Lebanon.”

Mashreghnews.ir said Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani visited Shateri's family to express his condolences.

This is the first time a senior Iranian commander is killed in Syria. The Quds Force is responsible for IRGC’s extraterritorial operations. The organization has also been accused of terrorist activities outside Iran. Its commander, Gen. Qasemi, reports directly to Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

File photo: The late Brig. Gen. Hassan Shateri of Quds Force (mashreghnews.ir)