Damascus; 01 April 2024 (UMMN): Suspected Israeli air strike that flattened the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday killing seven military advisers including three senior commanders in a marked escalation in a war pitting Israel against its regional adversaries.
The strike in Damascus comes just days after Israeli air strikes killed dozens of people in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, amid fears that the Gaza war could lead to a broader regional escalation.
Iran’s Ambassador Hossein Akbari, who was not injured, said that Tehran’s response would be “decisive”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian described the attack “as a violation of all international obligations and conventions”, reported AlJazeera
In a separate statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said that Iran “reserves the right to carry out a reaction and will decide on the type of response and the punishment of the aggressor”.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad denounced the “terrorist attack” while Russia accused Israel of carrying out an “unacceptable” attack.
When asked about the attack, an Israeli military spokesperson told journalists: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that the United States remained “concerned about anything that would be escalatory or cause an increase in conflict in the region”.
Ali Vaez, director of the International Crisis Group’s Iran Project, says Israel’s alleged attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria is “akin to targeting another country on its own soil”.
“Overall this seems to still be a low-simmer regional war. It’s not yet an all-out regional conflict, but it does appear that Israel is trying to do everything in its power to expand the conflict,” Vaez told Al Jazeera.
Citing a military source, Syrian state media said Israel launched an attack from the occupied Golan Heights onto the Iranian embassy, and that Syria shot down some missiles with its air defense system.
The Iranian ambassador said the strike hit a consular building within the embassy compound and his residence was on the top two floors, reported Arab News.
