Syrian Oppositionists Welcome Assassination Of Senior IRGC Commander Reza Mousavi In Damascus: He Was A Terrorist Who Massacred The Syrian People

Sayyed Reza Mousavi  a commander in the Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), died on December 25, 2023 in a targeted killing that was ascribed to Israel, in the town of Al-Sayyida Zaynab south of Damascus, which is known to be a stronghold of Hizbullah and of other militias backed by Iran.  Mousavi, who lived in Syria in the last 30 years, officially served as a military advisor and was in charge of logistical supply to the resistance front led by Iran.[1] According to some reports, he was in charge of Iran-backed forces in Syria and of the transfer of weapons from Iran to the Lebanese Hizbullah via Syria.[2]

Moussavi's assassination was welcomed by Syrian oppositionists, who wrote on social media that he was a terrorist who took part in the murder of Syrians, including children. Many of them hoped he would be cursed by Allah and end up in hell, and some even thanked Israel for killing him.

Syrian oppositionists also expressed anger at the reaction of Hamas, which condemned Mousavi's death, mourned him and called him a "martyr" who "fell on the path to [liberating] Jerusalem." The oppositionists condemned Hamas for disregarding the crimes Mousavi committed in Syria in the service of Iran. These angry responses are another expression of the deteriorating relations between the Syrian opposition and Hamas since the latter drew closer to Iran and to the Assad regime,[3] a process that culminated in the renewal of Hamas' relations with this regime in late 2022.

Reza Mousavi (Image: Tasnimnews.com, December 25, 2023)

This report presents posts by Syrian oppositionists on X (formerly Twitter) condemning Mousavi and slamming Hamas for mourning his death.

Syrian Oppositionists: Mousavi, Who Was Responsible For The Murder Of Many Syrians, Deserved To Die; His Killing Saved Lives

Many oppositionists accused Mousavi of complicity in the murder of Syrians during the war and welcomed his killing. Siba Madwar, a presenter on Qatar's Alaraby television channel, posted on X: "Iran presents its slain [operative], Reza Mousavi, as a 'military advisor' who was in charge of coordinating the alliance between Iran and the Assad regime. Some people take this to mean that his job was to develop some sort of weapon, military industry or military infrastructure for the liberation of Jerusalem. But the truth, as evident from 13 years [of war in Syria], is that his job was to enable the [Iran-backed] militias to bomb the peaceful cities [of Syria], murder children and torture the living [Syrians] and the prisoners [in Syria]. Iran has lost a general, but Syria has gained the souls he would have killed [in the future]."[4]

Syrian journalist and activist Omar Madaniah shared footage of Mousavi's funeral and wrote: "A clip from the funeral for the corpse of Reza Mousavi, the Iranian commander who led some of the battles against the Syrian people and oversaw the murder of their children. To hell [with him], Allah willing."[5]

Omar Madaniah's post

Abd Al-Wahhab Aliwi, an oppositionist from Idlib, wrote in a similar vein: "The slain Reza Mousavi was a partner of the slain [Qods Force commander] Qassem Soleimani in the genocide of the Syrian people. He continued to murder Syrians until the day he became a corpse. May Allah curse him and whoever mourns him."[6]

Abd Al-Mun'im Zain Al-Din, a researcher affiliated with the Syrian opposition, wrote: "Some people may think we rejoice and exult over the death of Iranian military commanders in Syria… The truth is that they are right."[7] 

Abd Al-Mun'im Zain Al-Din's post

Syrian Oppositionists Against Hamas: Mousavi Did Not Help The Palestinians But Murdered Syrians

In a December 26 press conference in Beirut, Hamas official in Lebanon Osama Hamdan condemned "the cowardly assassination of the martyred IRGC officer Reza Mousavi, who ascended to heaven as a martyr on the path to [liberating] Jerusalem," and called the assassination "a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of an Arab country [Syria]."[8]

A statement issued by Hamas on December 26 said that Mousavi's assassination was "a Zionist act of rampage and a crime that violates all the international laws and norms."[9]

This condemnation drew fire from many Syrian oppositionists, who accused Hamas of disregarding Mousavi's crimes against the Syrians. They stressed that Mousavi was a terrorist whose main role was to murder the people of Syria.

For example, Abd Al-Wahhab Aliwi, the oppositionist from Idlib, posted on X: "O Hamas commanders, the slain Reza Mousavi was not killed on the path to Jerusalem but on the path to Idlib, Homs, Aleppo, Deir Al-Zor and Deraa, while he was tormenting the Syrian people. Yet [Osama Hamdan] says [he was killed] on the path to Jerusalem!!!"[10]

Abd Al-Wahhab Aliwi's post

Oppositionist Bassam Ja'ara wrote: "Is the killing of Syrians permitted, that Hamas presents the killing of the Iranian IRGC commander in Syria, the war criminal Reza Mousavi, as an act of rampage and a crime? [Hamas] is perfectly aware of the scale of the massacres [Mousavi] carried out in Syria!"[11]

Bassam Ja'ara's post

A reporter on the oppositionist Syria TV channel, Yaser Al-Atrash, wrote in a similar vein: "Hamas' commanders insist on holding Syrian blood cheap and on glorifying the murderers of Syrians, [whereas] the Syrian people insist on holding Palestinian blood precious and sacred and on regarding those who murder Palestinians as criminals. 'Each one does according to his own manner' [Quran 17:84]. O Osama [Hamdan], Reza Mousavi is a terrorist whose profession was to murder Syrians, and he was assassinated in an Iranian colony in Damascus, not on the path to Jerusalem."[12]

User "Qusay BaD," an oppositionist activist on X, went so far as to thank Israel for assassinating Mousavi:  "[O] Syrians, young Arabs and lovers of freedom all over the world! The statements [issued by] the Iranian Hamas movement condemn the killing of Reza Mousavi and regard it as a violation of the sovereignty of an Arab country!!... The assassination of this Iranian criminal, who made a habit of murdering Syrians, has [suddenly] become a violation of sovereignty!!! Yet we are not allowed to mention the murder of hundreds of thousands of Syrians!!... Thank you, Israel, for murdering this terrorist criminal…"[13]