Assassinated Iranian general involved in ‘planning and execution’ of October 7 Hamas massacre: report

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An organization affiliated with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran revealed that Iranian General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was reportedly killed by an Israeli airstrike on April 1, played a key role in the mass murder of 1,200 people, including over 30 Americans, on October 7.

The U.S.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) located the shocking admission and translated it into English. Iran’s Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces published on April 3 a notice of mourning and recognition for the late Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Zahedi.

Zahedi was the IRGC’s commander of its elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon and was killed along with six other men in Iran’s diplomatic compound in Damascus.

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Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria. (Fars Media Corporation)

“The strategic role of the martyr Zahedi in consolidating and strengthening the resistance front, and in the planning and execution of Al-Aqsa Flood, are part of the great pride that will transform the quiet efforts of this great commander into the eternal history of the struggle against the occupation by the Zionist regime,” declared the Iranian Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces, according to the MEMRI translation.

The Al-Aqsa-Flood is the Hamas name for the October 7 invasion that resulted in mass rapes, deaths, and hostage-taking. There are currently over 100 hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

When asked about the MEMRI report and Zahedi’s role in the October 7 massacre, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “IRGC Qods Force Brigadier General Mohamed Reza Zahedi was a significant leader of Iran’s effort, directly and through proxies, to threaten Israel.  While we are unable to comment on the precise role he has played in the October 7 attack, there is no question that the IRGC Qods Force and people like Zahedi have long been involved in supporting threats to Israel and to U.S. interests, including the arming and funding of terrorist groups and militant proxies and partners that threaten Israel’s security and stability across the Middle East.”

A spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Fox News Digital that the “IRGC is the largest state-funded terror organization. It’s the main tool of the terror regime in Iran to export its policy in the ME and around the world. Israel calls on the international community to designate the IRGC as a terror organization.” 

The State Department echoed the views of Israel. According to the spokesperson, “The IRGC is absolutely a terrorist organization. That’s why we designated the IRGC and why we have encouraged other countries to take a similar step. The case is stronger today than it has ever been. Our views related to the IRGC are clear in the numerous actions we have undertaken to sanction them and their members, including since October 7.  We continue to work with allies to identify sanctionable activities undertaken by Iranian government entities, including the IRGC.” 

This image made from undated bodycam video footage taken by a downed Hamas terrorist and released by Israel Defense Forces shows a Hamas terrorist walking around a residential neighborhood at an undisclosed location in southern Israel. Israel’s military brought together a group of foreign correspondents on Monday, Octoner 16, 2023, to screen a 40-minute reel of gruesome footage compiled from Hamas attack on October 7. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

The Trump administration designated the IRGC in 2019 a foreign terrorist organization. Major world powers such as France, Britain, Germany and Canada have resisted calls over the years to sanction the IRGC.

According to MEMRI’s analysis of the disclosure of Zahedi’s involvement in the October 7 atrocities, the research institute said, “This is essentially an official admission by a senior Iranian regime figure that Iran did indeed have a hand in the planning and execution of the October 7 attack.” 

The U.S. and Israel are on high alert as Tehran increased its saber-rattling about launching military strikes against Israel. 

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An Israeli soldier patrols near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on October 12, 2023, close to the place where 270 revellers were killed by terrorists during the Supernova music festival on October 7. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas terrorists entered Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip enclave the following day.  (ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

MEMRI added that the Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces announcement contradicts Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s official denial, on October 10, 2023, that Iran had played any role in the October 7 terrorist attack.

The MEMRI report appeared days before a London Times article on Thursday that said Israel has obtained letters showing Iran’s financial support to its proxy, Hamas. “The Times has been shown letters to Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, revealing what Israel’s military believe is evidence of a series of payments from Iran,” wrote the paper. 

The money outlined in the letters from 2020 and 2021 shows that Iran funneled $222 million to Hamas.

Israeli army battle tanks move in an area along the border with the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on April 2, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

The announcement mourning Zahedi’s death warned about a pending attack against Israel as the Middle East is on the brink of a possible wide-ranging open war.

“The lethal blows struck during those days against the occupiers of Jerusalem [i.e. Israel] have led the leaders of [that] regime to the brink of helplessness and despair. The cowardly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus is clear proof of [the truth] of this assertion,” the official Iranian announcement noted about Zahedi.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks at the coffins of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy complex in the Syrian capital Damascus, during a funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran April 4, 2024.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)

The Zahedi notice continued, “The supporters [of the regime in] Tel Aviv must know that Iran’s harsh and unfortunate response to this bloody crime is on its way, and it will absolutely have a divine impact on the future equations in the region.”

Iran’s staged antisemitic demonstrations called the Qods Day across its country last week calling for the seizure of Jerusalem and the elimination of Israel. Qods is the Arabic term for Jerusalem.

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The announcement for Zahedi noted, “Again, we send blessings to and salute the souls of the seven martyrs [who died] on the way to Jerusalem, and invite the zealous men of Tehran to participate in the Qods Day march and to make a glorious showing at the funeral of these proud fighters.”

The U.S. State Department, under both Republican and Democrat administrations, has classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism. Numerous Fox News Digital press queries to Iran’s Foreign Ministry and its UN Mission were not answered.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal.