International Courant
Damascus, Syria — An Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consular constructing in Syria, killing a senior Iranian navy chief and a number of other others, Syrian officers and state media mentioned Monday.
The assault on the Iranian embassy grounds seems to mark an escalation of Israel’s assaults on Iranian navy officers and their allies in Syria, which have intensified since Hamas militants – who’re backed by Iran – attacked Israel on October 7.
Since then, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah – one other Iranian-backed militant group – have elevated alongside Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Israel, which hardly ever acknowledges such assaults, mentioned it had no touch upon the most recent strike in Syria.
The assault killed Iranian navy adviser Normal Ali Reza Zahdi, who led the elite Quds Drive in Lebanon and Syria till 2016, in accordance with two tv channels in Syria – the Iranian-Arab channel Al-Alam and the Pan-Arab Al-Alam channel. Mayadeen.
Whereas Iran’s consular constructing was razed within the assault, the principle embassy constructing remained intact, in accordance with Syrian state information company SANA.
Iran’s ambassador, Hossein Akbari, condemned Israel and mentioned as many as seven individuals had been killed. Rescuers had been nonetheless looking for our bodies below the rubble. Akbari mentioned two cops guarding the constructing had been injured.
He vowed to retaliate for the strike “with the identical magnitude and severity.”
The Israeli navy’s chief spokesman, Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari, mentioned late Monday {that a} drone assault on a naval base in southern Israel early Monday was “directed by Iran.” There have been no accidents and solely minor injury to a constructing, the navy mentioned.
The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which can be backed by Iran, accused Israel of desirous to deepen the battle in Gaza.
Charles Lister, director of the Syria program on the Washington-based suppose tank the Center East Institute, referred to as the strike a “main escalation.” The assault will definitely result in retaliation, he wrote on the social media platform X.
Syrian International Minister Faisal Mekdad mentioned “a number of” individuals had been killed, and in a phone dialog together with his counterpart in Iran he condemned Israel.
Iranian International Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani referred to as on different international locations to sentence the strike. Iranian state tv mentioned the Iranian ambassador’s residence was within the consular constructing, which was subsequent to the embassy. The primary embassy remained intact.
Israel has carried out tons of of assaults on targets in government-controlled elements of Syria in recent times.
Such airstrikes have escalated in current months towards the backdrop of Israel’s warfare towards Hamas within the Gaza Strip and ongoing clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Whereas Israel hardly ever acknowledges its actions in Syria, Israel has mentioned it’s focusing on bases of Iran-linked militant teams akin to Lebanese Hezbollah, which has despatched hundreds of fighters to help Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
An Israeli airstrike in a Damascus neighborhood in December killed a longtime adviser to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards in Syria, Seyed Razi Mousavi.
An identical assault on a constructing in Damascus in January killed at the least 5 Iranian advisers. Final week, an Iranian adviser was killed in airstrikes on the strategic jap Syrian province of Deir el-Zour close to the Iraqi border.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Related Press author Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.
An Israeli airstrike destroys the Iranian consulate in Syria, killing a high commander, native media say
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