Sadegh Omidzadeh (Persian:صادق امیدزاده; died 20 January 2024), also known asHojatollah Omidvar (Persian:حجت الله امیدوار),[1] was an Iranian general and head of theQuds Force intelligence unit in Syria.[2] He was killed in Damascus by an Israeli airstrike.[3][4]
Military career
On 14 August 2012, Omidzadeh, along with other Iranian officials, was captured bySyrian opposition groups in the vicinity ofDamascus airport. Subsequently, he was released following mediation efforts by Qatar.[5] In June 2023, reports surfaced indicating that Omidzadeh was planning attacks on American forces in Syria. His specific focus involved targeting U.S.Humvee andCougar armored vehicles within Syrian territory.[6][7]
Death
On 20 January 2024, Omidzadeh, along with four other Iranian officials, Ali Aghazadeh, Saeed Karimi, Hossein Mohammadi,[8] and Mohammad Amin Samadi,[9] was killed during a meeting at a building in theMezzeh district ofDamascus. The Israeli airstrikes, as reported by theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, resulted in the complete destruction of the building, leading to the death of at least 10 military personnel.[10]
Iran
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps