Zahedi joined the IRGC in 1979 and served as a mid-level officer during the Iran–Iraq War. He led the 44th Qamar Beni Hashem Division from 1983 to 1986 and later headed the 14th Imam Hossein Division from 1986 to 1991. He was also the commander of the Thar-Allah Headquarters in Tehran and had been the deputy of IRGC operations. On 21 January 2006, he was appointed as the commander of the IRGC Ground Forces.^[5] From 2007 to 2015, he headed the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, coordinating the IRGC's activities with Shia-led proxies in those countries.^[3]

Quds Force edit

In 1998, Qasem Soleimani, the Quds Force's new commander, appointed Zahedi as the organization's Lebanon Corps leader, responsible for providing arms and technical expertise to the Hezbollah military wing.^{[citation needed]} According to Arash Azizi, this appointment and that of Hossein Sheikholeslam as the Iranian ambassador to Syria were indications of Soleimani's determination to strengthen Hezbollah in Lebanon and renew Iran–Syria collaboration.^{[how?][citation needed]}

Zahedi's first tenure as the Lebanon Corps leader lasted until 2002. In this capacity, he was instrumental in upgrading Hezbollah's capability for attacks within Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon, and in planning Hezbollah's spring 2000 offensive that resulted in the defeat of the pro-Israel South Lebanon Army, ending the South Lebanon conflict in Hezbollah's favour after prompting Israel's withdrawal.^{[citation needed]}

Following the end of his first tenure as the Lebanon Corps' leader, Zahedi is thought^{[by whom?]} to have been part of a small joint IRGC–Hezbollah command cadre—alongside Soleimani, IRGC commander Ahmad Kazemi, and Lebanese Hezbollah chief Imad Mughniyeh—responsible for directing the construction of a large overground and underground fortification network in Southern Lebanon, which aided Hezbollah during the 2006 Lebanon War.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Soleimani appointed Zahedi to the position of commander of the Quds Force's Lebanon Corps for a second time.^{[citation needed]} This tenure lasted until his assassination by Israel in 2024. Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war for the purpose of supporting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who has also been aided by a protracted Russian intervention, has been a source of contention for Israel.^[4]

On 1 April 2024, Zahedi was killed by an Israeli airstrike that targeted the consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Syria's Damascus.^[6] Between five and seven people were killed in the airstrike, according to Syria's Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari. The strike caused "massive destruction" to the consulate building as well as damage to neighbouring buildings, according to Syrian state-owned media.^[9] Zahedi is the most senior IRGC officer to have been killed since the assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the United States in January 2020.^[10] After his death, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran condemned the attacks and said that the country reserves the right to execute a "decisive response" against the "aggressors" behind the airstrike, though the Israeli government avoided issuing any statements claiming responsibility.^[11] On 13 April 2024, Iran launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel; the Israeli government stated that it intercepted 99% of the Iranian projectiles, but the attack critically injured a child.^[12] On 19 April 2024, Israel attacked an Iranian air defense system in response to the drone and missile barrage a week prior.^[13]

•   Media related to Mohammad-Reza Zahedi at Wikimedia Commons