Iran says that it wasn’t just a member of its elite Revolutionary Guard killed by an apparent Israeli air strike in Lebanon on Sunday.  The target who died alongside six members of Hezbollah was a high-ranking general, putting Iran back into the middle of Israel’s conflict with the Lebanese militant group.

“This brave general and some members of Hezbollah were martyred,” went the statement from Iran, identifying him as General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi.  Tehran says he was advising the Shiite Hezbollah in its fight not against Israel, but against Sunni extremists in Syria, such as Islamic State or the al-Qaeda allied al Nusra Front.  Iran is not confirming reports that another five Iranian officers not previously acknowledged were killed in Sunday’s attack.

Israel still hasn’t confirmed that it carried out the air strike, but UN peacekeepers stationed in the Golan Heights say two drones that crossed from Israel carried it out. 

Fallout from this mess has the potential to worsen the situation in the Mideast.  Hezbollah is now reportedly turning away from Syria and planning swift revenge, but at a level that wouldn’t lure Israel into a full-scale war.  If that is the case, Iran would likely provide some level of support.