Iran warned arch-enemy Israel on Tuesday that it might “punish” an airstrike that killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals, at its consular annex in Damascus.
4 different folks have been additionally reported killed in Monday's strike that leveled the five-story constructing adjoining to the Iranian embassy and additional fueled tensions which might be already excessive because the Gaza struggle nears its finish of his sixth month.
Israel declined to touch upon the strike, which fueled tensions within the Center East already infected by the struggle in Gaza between Israel and Iran's ally Hamas.
Iran's Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed that Israel can be punished.
“The evil Zionist regime can be punished by our good males. We are going to make them remorse this crime and others,” Khamenei mentioned in a message posted on his official web site.
President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the assault as a “clear violation of worldwide rules” that “is not going to go unanswered.”
“After repeated defeats and failures towards the religion and can of the fighters of the Resistance Entrance, the Zionist regime put the Czech murders on its agenda within the struggle to avoid wasting itself,” mentioned Raisi on at his workplace's web site.
The UN Safety Council will focus on the strike later Tuesday at a gathering requested by Syrian ally Russia.
The strike on the annex killed seven Revolutionary Guards, together with two commanders of its Quds Power international operations arm, Brigadier Generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Iranian officers mentioned.
Zahedi, 63, had held a succession of instructions within the drive in a Guards profession spanning greater than 4 a long time.
A Britain-based monitor of Syria's decade-long battle, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights mentioned the assault killed “eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese – all combatants”.
Iran's ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, informed Iranian state TV that the assault “was carried out by F-35 fighter jets” that fired six missiles on the vessel.
Solely the door of the constructing was left standing after the assault, with an indication studying “the consular part of the Iranian embassy”.
Home windows have been damaged in a radius of 500 meters (550 yards) and several other parked vehicles have been broken by the explosion.
The adjoining facade of the Iranian embassy is embellished with a big portrait of Qasem Soleimani, a Quds Power commander who was killed in a US drone strike simply outdoors Baghdad airport in January 2020.
“Essential message for the US”
Iran's international minister mentioned Israel's predominant backer, the US, was additionally accountable for the assault, though an unidentified U.S. official cited by Axios insisted that Washington “had not involvement” or superior information thereof.
Amir-Abdollahian informed X that the ministry had summoned a diplomat from the Swiss embassy, which takes care of US pursuits in Iran, to listen to his protest.
“An vital message has been despatched to the American authorities as a supporter of the Zionist regime. America have to be held accountable,” he mentioned within the submit.
Iran's allies across the area and past have expressed help for its stance.
“China condemns the assault,” Overseas Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin mentioned, including “the safety of diplomatic establishments can’t be violated, and sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria have to be revered.”
The Iraqi Overseas Ministry condemned the assault as a “flagrant violation of worldwide legislation” and warned of “extra chaos and instability” within the area.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon warned that Israel was paying for the killing of Guard commanders. “This crime is not going to cross with out the enemy receiving punishment and revenge,” Hezbollah mentioned in a press release.
Russia blamed the Israeli air drive for “the unacceptable assault towards the Iranian consular mission in Syria.”
The Palestinian militant group Hamas condemned the strike, which it described as a “harmful escalation”.
The Gaza struggle broke out with the unprecedented assault by Hamas on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, largely civilians, based on an AFP tally by Israeli officers.
Israel's retaliatory offensive towards Hamas has killed almost 33,000 folks in Gaza, largely ladies and kids, based on the Hamas territory's well being ministry.
Iran-backed teams in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen have since carried out a sequence of assaults on Israeli and Western targets.
(AFP)
