Israel Bombs Iranian Embassy in Syria Killing Top Commander

On Monday, a suspected Israeli warplane dropped a bomb on Iran’s embassy in Syria, marking a significant escalation in Israel’s war with its regional foes. Tehran reported that the strike killed seven military advisers, including three senior commanders.

Reuters reporters on the scene in Damascus’ Mezzeh area observed rescue workers clambering atop the rubble of a wrecked building within the diplomatic grounds, next to the main embassy. Outside were emergency trucks parked. An Iranian flag hung from a post near the rubble.

The Syrian foreign and interior ministers were also seen at the scene. “We strongly condemn this atrocious terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed a number of innocents,” Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad stated.

Israel’s military has increased its bombings in Syria targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, both of which support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Israel launched its first attack on the massive embassy compound on Monday, Reuters reported.

Israel normally does not mention its soldiers’ attacks on Syria. When asked about the strike, an Israeli military official stated, “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media”.

Iran’s envoy to Syria, Hossein Akbari, who was unharmed, told Iranian state television that five to seven individuals, including diplomats, were killed and that Tehran’s response would be “harsh”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that the strike killed seven military advisers, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the IRGC’s Quds Force, an elite overseas espionage and paramilitary branch.

Iranian official television reported that Tehran suspected Zahedi was the intended target of the strike. His deputy and another senior commander were also slain, as did four others.

According to the New York Times, four unnamed Israeli officials acknowledged that Israel carried out the strike.

Iran’s Arabic language According to Al Alam Television, Zahedi was a Syrian military adviser who led the Quds Force in both Lebanon and Syria until 2016.

According to Syrian official media, Israel conducted an attack on the Iranian embassy from the occupied Golan Heights, and Syria responded with an air defense system that shot down some missiles.

The Iranian ambassador stated that the strike hit a consular building within the embassy compound, with his house on the top two levels.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a regular news conference, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the US is still “concerned about anything that would be escalatory or cause an increase in conflict in the region.”

Miller said he did not anticipate it to affect talks to liberate Israeli prisoners held by Iran-backed Hamas.

Hamas and Houthi spokespeople, an Iran-backed Yemeni organization that has targeted vessels in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, condemned the Damascus strike.

On Friday, Israel launched its bloodiest strikes in months on northern Syria’s Aleppo region, killing a senior Hezbollah fighter in Lebanon.

It has also repeatedly targeted airports in Aleppo and Damascus in an attempt to disrupt Iran’s weapons deliveries to its proxies.

The Israeli military stated on Monday that it has also stopped advanced weapons, such as shrapnel charges and anti-tank mines, from being transported into the West Bank from Iran. It said that the weapons were discovered during an operation against a Hezbollah and IRGC agent based in Lebanon.

Source: Reuters

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