The Israeli military carried out a cross-border airstrike that killed al-Mousavi, a longtime Iranian brigadier general and senior adviser to the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria. The move angered Tehran, with Iran's Raisi announcing that Israel would pay the price, and Iran's foreign minister announcing that he would retaliate against it.
Mousavi was hit by an Israeli airstrike on his way home after work on the 25th, and he has long been involved in Iran's military cooperation operations in Syria, so Iran is extremely angry about his death. Israel has been seeking to assassinate Mousavi because he is seen as an important figure in Iran's "axis of resistance" and is involved in orchestrating "extensive smuggling" in the Middle East.
Mousavi also has an important identity, that is, he was a close confidant and right-hand man of Soleimani, the former commander of Iran's "Quds Force". Soleimani was regarded as a "devilish genius" by the US military, and his outstanding military capabilities made the United States "breathtaking". It is worth mentioning that on January 3, 2020, Soleimani was killed by a US "Reaper" drone near Baghdad airport on his way to Iraq.
The Israeli airstrike, which killed Mousavi, occurred on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Soleimani's death, and is likely to be a deliberate show of Israel's power to Iran against the backdrop of the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Some believe that Iran will certainly not rest on its laurels and may even support the launch of rockets in Syria and other directions to strike at Israel.
The fighting in the Gaza Strip is raging, and the fighting between Hamas and the Israeli army is still fierce. In this case, Iran may increase its support for Hamas, even provide military assistance to Yemen's Houthi forces, and cooperate militarily with Allah in Lebanon, further exacerbating the "north-south" war facing Israel.
It is worth mentioning that Hamas launched an operation against Israel in October called the "Al-Aqsa flood". However, Iran will not necessarily be directly involved in the war with Israel, primarily considering the presence of the United States. In addition, Iran is not adjacent to Israel, so it will not be easy to launch a ground war directly.
Therefore, the more appropriate option for Iran is still to keep its distance from the battlefield, as the United States has done, and to confront it by "** people". However, Israel should not be taken lightly, as the Hamas raid has exposed the weakness of the Israeli army. If Operation Al-Aqsa floods were to happen again with Iran's support, it would have a very negative impact on Israel's image.