Iran's IRGC commander threatens retaliation after alleged Israeli strike kills adviser in Syria

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander on Wednesday threatened to retaliate after an Iranian adviser in Syria was killed earlier this week in an alleged Israeli strike.

IRGC adviser Saeed Abyar was killed during an Israeli attack on Aleppo, according to Tasnim News, an outlet linked to the IRGC. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike.

IRGC Cmdr. Hossein Salami said Wednesday that Israel "will pay" for the attack and should "wait" for Iran's answer to it, Tasnim also reported.

The IRGC, a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization, was first deployed to Syria in 2011 following a series of regional uprisings known as the Arab Spring, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

This is not the first time Iran has threatened Israel over the deaths of IRGC officials in Syria. In April, Iran blamed Israel for airstrikes in Syria that killed senior IRGC officials. The Islamic Republic then launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in response. Israel responded with a counter-attack, but Iran seemed to downplay the attack's intensity.

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