IRGC says seven members killed in Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.
Tehran “reserves the right to respond and will decide on the type of response and the punishment of the aggressor.”
Damascus ( Web News )
In a statement carried by state news agency IRNA, the IRGC said that commanders Mohammad-Reza Zahedi and Mohammad-Hadi Haji Rahimi were killed in the attack, describing them as “Iran’s senior military advisors in Syria.”
Slain IRGC commander Mohammad-Reza Zahedi. (File photo)
The statement added that five of their accompanying officers were also killed in the attack, naming them as: Hossein Amanollahi, Mahdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sedaghat, Ali Agha Babaei, and Ali Salehi Roozbahani.
Zahedi was responsible for overseeing operations in Lebanon and Syria for the Quds Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations arm, while Haji Rahimi served as his deputy, according to state media.
The statement added that five of their accompanying officers were also killed in the attack, naming them as: Hossein Amanollahi, Mahdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sedaghat, Ali Agha Babaei, and Ali Salehi Roozbahani.
During a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Amir-Abdollahian held Israel responsible for the ensuing consequences of this attack, according to IRNA.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Tehran “reserves the right to respond and will decide on the type of response and the punishment of the aggressor.”
Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said the attack was carried out by F-35 fighter jets. Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam TV channel said the strike “completely destroyed” the consulate, which was situated adjacent to the Iranian embassy.
In recent years, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against both Iranian-backed groups and Syrian military forces inside Syria.
Iran, a staunch ally of President Bashar al-Assad, has played a key role in the Syrian conflict since its beginning in 2011, dispatching thousands of Iranian and foreign fighters to back the Syrian regime.
The attack in Damascus comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, with Iran and several Tehran-backed militant groups facing off against Israel and the US on multiple fronts since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.
“The Ministry expresses the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of targeting diplomatic facilities for any justification, and under any pretext, which is a violation of international diplomatic laws and the rules of diplomatic immunity,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
Iran on Monday accused Israel of targeting its consulate in Damascus with airstrikes and killing seven Iranian military officials.
The attack has drawn condemnation from several other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan and Qatar.
Moscow on Monday accused Israel of carrying out an “unacceptable” attack on a diplomatic building in Syria, after air strikes destroyed the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus.
“On the evening of April 1, the Israeli Air Force struck the Iranian consulate building in Damascus,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We strongly condemn this unacceptable attack against the Iranian consular mission in Syria.”
Israel did not comment on the reported attack. Syrian and Iranian officials have also accused Israel of staging the strikes.
Moscow said that any attacks on a diplomatic building were “unacceptable”.
“We call on the Israeli leadership to stop provocative acts of armed violence against the territory of Syria and neighboring countries,” the ministry said.
A top Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander was among eight people reported to have been killed in the strikes amid worsening regional tensions.
Iranian officials vowed a stiff response with fears of even further violence between Israel and Iran’s allies triggered by the Gaza war.