Rpts: IRGC Adviser Killed In Strike; Raisi: 'We Won't Be Bullied'

Wires reporting that according to a 'semi-official Iranian news outlet' an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) adviser has been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a target south of the Syrian capital Damascus. Tzvi Joffre at the Jersualem Post on X: "Iranian media reporting that a member of the IRGC named Saeed Alidadi was killed in the airstrikes." The strike comes as the IRGC is believed to be withdrawing many of its senior figures from Syria and Iraq with the expectation that they could be targets for US strikes.

• Earlier in the day, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi delivered a televised speech, statingthat "We will not start any war, but if anyone wants to bully us they will receive a strong response...The Islamic Republic's military power in the region is not and never has been a threat to any country. "
• Wires reporting comments from Al-Nujaba, an Iranian-backed militia based in Iraq, stating that it 'will continue attacks against US forces until the war in Gaza ends and US forces withdraw from Iraq'. Al-Nujaba leader Akram al-Kaabi stated that "Any (US) strike will result in an appropriate response,"
• Earlier in the week another Iran-backed militia, Kata'ib Hezbollah, said it was suspending its attacks on US targets. The prospect of regional escalation appears relatively low at present, with the US likely to hold back from striking Iranian territory directly. However, any further attacks on US forces in the region could result in a more escalatory response.