An Iranian lawmaker claims Tehran will respond to Israel's recent assault resulting in the deaths of five Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders in Syria.

Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the National Security Committee of the Parliament, said on Saturday that "Our strategy is to prevent the region from further escalation into war, but rest assured that Iran will give a timely and heavy response to Israel."

Earlier on Thursday, he stated that “the fact that military commanders exercise prudence does not mean they don’t want to respond.”

The incident occurred on January 20 when an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in Damascus's Mazzeh neighborhood, as reported by Syria's state-run SANA news agency. Initially, four IRGC personnel lost their lives: Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Aqazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, and Saeed Karimi. Subsequently, a fifth officer, Mohammad-Amin Samadi, succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack.

Razi Mousavi, responsible for logistical and military coordination for the IRGC in Syria, was killed in a similar attack near Damascus in December, marking a continuation of Israeli strikes targeting Iranian interests in the region.

Iranian-backed Hamas in Gaza declared war on Israel on October 7. Subsequently, support from Iran-backed groups like the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon swiftly followed. Despite repeated threats against Israel from the Iranian government, Tehran has abstained from direct attacks, opting instead to support proxies encircling Israel.