Iran has vowed to take action after its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus was destroyed in what appeared to be an Israeli missile attack, killing seven people, including the commander-in-chief and his deputy.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and his deputy, Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, were killed in Monday’s attack.
Israel has long targeted Iranian military facilities and its proxies in Syria, but Monday’s attack was the first to target the embassy compound itself.
Here’s what we know:
what happened?
The consulate, located next to the embassy’s main building in Damascus’s Mezzeh district, was attacked around 5pm (14:00 Japan time) on Monday.
Photos from the scene showed piles of rubble and twisted steel, with an Iranian flag still hanging from a nearby pole.
Who was there?
According to a statement from the Revolutionary Guards, several Revolutionary Guard military advisors were inside the building at the time of the attack, and seven people were killed.
Zahedi and Hajriahimi were among the dead, the statement said.
Zahedi was the leader of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, the newspaper said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said up to 11 people were killed, all of them combatants, including eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese.
How did Iran react?
Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador to Syria, who was not injured in the attack, said Tehran’s response would be “decisive.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian condemned Israel, calling the attack a “violation of all international obligations and treaties.”
In a separate statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Qanani said Iran “reserves the right to counterattack and will decide on the type of response and punishment of the aggressor.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the attack was a “clear violation of the United Nations Charter, international law and the fundamental principle of diplomatic and consular inviolability.”
The Iranian mission called the attack a “grave threat to regional peace and security,” urged the UN Security Council to condemn the attack, and urged the Iranian government to “take a firm response.” He said he reserved the right to “take it.”
Demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran to condemn Israel for the attack.
How did others react?
Syria said “innocent people” were killed in the attack.
“We strongly condemn this brutal terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed many innocent people,” said Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who visited the site of the attack with the Syrian Interior Minister.
Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also joined in the condemnation.
“We strongly condemn this unacceptable attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Lebanon’s Iranian-backed group Hezbollah has threatened that Israel will pay for the attack.
Hezbollah has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel almost daily since the Gaza conflict broke out in October in support of its ally Hamas.
Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday: “Indeed, this crime will not stand unless the enemy faces punishment and retaliation.” He added that Zahedi was “one of the first to support, sacrifice and persevere over many years to develop and advance the Resistance movement.” [Hezbollah] In Lebanon.”
Islamic countries including Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the attack.
Meanwhile, in the United States, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington “remains concerned about the potential for escalation or increased conflict in the region.”
Asked about the attack, an Israeli military spokesperson told reporters: “We do not comment on foreign media reports.”
The New York Times cited four anonymous Israeli officials who acknowledged that Israel was responsible for the attack.
What are the possible consequences?
The attack appears to mark Israel’s growing targeting of Iranian military personnel who provide funding and arms to hardliners fighting Israel in Gaza and along the border with Lebanon.
But analysts appear to be divided on whether this action will spark a regional war.
John Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said Israel likely sees the attack as a deterrent.
“Israelis are convinced that if they try to resist, the threat will increase, not diminish,” he said. “They are led to believe that if they do this regularly, the enemy will be deterred.”
But Stephen Cook, an analyst at the Washington Council on Foreign Relations, said there was a risk of escalation.
“The Revolutionary Guards could loosen restrictions on proxies in Iraq and Syria, putting U.S. forces at risk again,” he said. “Iran could also direct Hezbollah to escalate its attacks on Israel, which is becoming bolder and more numerous.”
Israeli military chief spokesman Daniel Hagari said the drone attack on a naval base in southern Israel late Monday was “at the direction of Iran” and that no one was injured.
The Israeli military announced early Tuesday that some type of weapon launched from Syria toward Israel crashed before reaching its intended target.
Ali Baez, director of the International Crisis Group’s Iran project, agreed that while there is a risk of escalating the conflict, it may not be too worrying for Israel.
“[This] Putting Israel in a win-win situation, Israel knows that Iran does not want to get drawn into a regional war, and there is probably no cost to escalating attacks against Iranian assets and personnel in Syria. And if Iran strikes back, it probably won’t cost anything. And if they retaliate, it becomes a legitimate pretext for escalating the war. ”
