Iran not likely to retaliate after alleged Israeli strike: ‘Not ready’

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Iran is not likely to respond directly against the Jewish state but rather use its proxies to do the job, after a top commander of its Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

"Given the target and location of the strike – at a building adjacent to the consulate — I expect the Iranians to respond," Bill Roggio, managing editor of Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.

"It is difficult to say how the Iranians respond," Roggio said. "The Iranians may try to target Israelis overseas, and may also leverage its militias – Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iraqi and Syria militias, to strike at targets within Israel."

Roggio’s comments come after Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior IRGC commander, was reportedly killed Monday in an air strike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, according to a report from Reuters.

WHO IS MOHAMMAD REZA ZAHEDI, THE IRANIAN MILITARY COMMANDER REPORTEDLY KILLED IN SYRIA?

Iran’s consulate was flattened in the strike, according to the report, which noted that Syrian and Iranian media had blamed the carnage on an Israeli air strike.

Israel declined to comment on the apparent strike, Reuters reported, with an Israeli military spokesperson telling the outlet that it does "not comment on reports in