The Israeli airstrike next to Iran’s embassy in Damascus on April 1 targeted several high-ranking members of Iran’s Quds Force — an elite division of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. Among those killed: top IRGC-QF commander in Syria and Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Zahedi. 

The regime in Tehran has vowed revenge, and Israel is on high-alert for escalation by Iran’s proxies on seven possible fronts.

To discuss the strategic thinking behind Israel’s strike and possible Iranian responses, host Cliff May is joined by FDD experts Behnam Ben Taleblu and Hussain Abdul Hussain. 

They explain why diplomatic immunity was not in play in Damascus, and revisit Iran’s history of not respecting such diplomatic niceties and protocols; analyze reactions from the Biden administration and “international community” — including at the United Nations where the Russian Federation protects and defends Tehran, where Security Council resolutions beneficial to Israel are not enforced, and where“international law” seems to only apply to Israel and the U.S.