Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, Syria on Monday, reportedly killing seven Iranian military advisers, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran’s Quds Force, an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm, according to Reuters based on a statement of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s ambassador to Syria Hossain Akbari said the strike hit a consular building in the embassy compound, the top two floors of which is his residence.
Reacting to this major escalation of conflict in the region, Iran promised on Tuesday to exact revenge on Israel for an airstrike that killed its senior generals and military advisors in its sovereign territory in the Iranian embassy, highlighting the possibility of further escalation following the unprecedented attack.
“The Zionist regime will be punished by the hands of our brave men,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed. “We will make it regret this crime and others it has committed.”
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said, “Having failed to destroy the will of the resistance front, the “Zionist” regime [Israel] has put blind assassinations back on its agenda to save itself” referring to the “Axis of Resistance”.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the bombing that destroyed the diplomatic facility next to the main embassy building.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad who was seen at the site along with Syria’s interior minister said, “We strongly condemn this atrocious terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed a number of innocents.”Iran’s U.N. mission described the attack as a “flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the foundational principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises.”
Hezbollah, the Lebanese organization regarded as Iran’s satellite in the area, promised to react. “This crime will not go unpunished,” it vowed in a statement.
Muslim nations, including Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, denounced the action, as did Russia.
Israel has routinely attacked Iran’s military sites in Syria, as well as those of its proxies, but Monday’s strike was the first time Israel has struck the massive embassy compound itself.
Israel’s military has increased its bombings in Syria targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed organization Hezbollah.