Iran's Revolutionary Guards Attack Israeli ‘Spy Headquarters’ In Iraq, Regional Tensions Escalate

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly conducted missile attacks on multiple alleged "terrorist" targets in Syria and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. The attacks destroyed "a spy headquarters" and a "gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The attack resulted in four fatalities and six injuries, including the prominent businessman Peshraw Dizayee, according to Iraq's Kurdistan Security Council.

The IRGC, in a statement, claimed to have targeted locations in Syria associated with recent terrorist operations, particularly those linked to the Islamic State group. The strike on Syria was said to be in response to recent attacks by terrorist groups that claimed Iranian lives in the southern cities of Kerman and Rask.

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The United States strongly condemned Iran's actions, labeling the missile strikes as "reckless" and expressing condolences to the families affected. Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US State Department, highlighted that the attacks undermine Iraq's stability.

Explosions were reported in Aleppo and its countryside, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stating that at least four missiles originating from the Mediterranean Sea direction had fallen.

The IRGC also claimed to have targeted alleged Israeli "spy headquarters" in Iraq's Kurdistan region, accusing it of being a center for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist actions in the region, specifically naming Israel's Mossad spy organisation. The strike was presented as a response to recent attacks on Iran and the "axis of resistance".

Regional tensions have escalated amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, involving Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. The IRGC had previously carried out missile attacks in Arbil in March 2022, claiming to target a "strategic center" linked to Israel.

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In recent incidents, an Israeli strike on December 25 killed senior Guards commander Razi Moussavi, and on January 8, Israel reportedly killed Wissam Hassan Tawil, a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.