TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday extended condolences to the family of an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander who was killed in an Israeli missile attack in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Raisi said the "malicious move by Israel was another indication of its desperation, weakness and helplessness" in the region, vowing that "Israel will definitely pay the price for its crime", according to a statement published on the website of his office.

Iran's IRGC announced on Monday that one of its veteran commanders serving as a "military adviser" was killed in an Israeli missile attack in Damascus.

Identified as Seyyed Razi Mousavi, the commander was "responsible for backing up the resistance front in Syria," and was one of the comrades of the late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News quoted an IRGC statement as saying.

The statement stressed that Israel "will pay the price for this crime".

Earlier this month, the IRGC said in a statement that two of its servicemen had been killed by Israeli forces "while conducting an advisory mission in Syria's Islamic resistance front".

Iran says it has an advisory role in Syria and is present in the country at the request of Damascus. Israel has for years targeted what it calls Iran-linked positions in Syria.