DAMASCUS/BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike targeted a command centre belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force in the Mazzeh district of Damascus late Wednesday, killing IRGC Quds Force Commander Esmail Kaabi and at least five other IRGC officers, Syrian state media and two regional intelligence sources confirmed Thursday.
The strike — the first confirmed Israeli targeting of a serving IRGC officer since the January 14 regional ceasefire — destroyed a building used for planning operations between the Quds Force and Lebanese Hezbollah, according to the sources.
Syria’s government called the attack a grave violation of sovereignty and said it reserved the right to respond. Syrian airspace was closed to civilian flights within hours of the strike. Lebanon’s army placed all units on maximum alert and repositioned forces south toward the Litani River.
The IDF confirmed it had conducted a targeted strike on a terrorist infrastructure but did not immediately comment on whether a specific individual was killed. Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss envoy — representing US interests in Tehran — to lodge a formal complaint.
Kaabi had overseen the Quds Force’s regional coordination since 2023. His killing marks the most significant breach of the ceasefire’s unspoken rules of engagement and throws into uncertainty nascent Hormuz negotiations.
Oil prices rose more than two percent on the news — Brent crude climbing to $104.72 per barrel. The USS Truman carrier group was placed on elevated alert.