Iran has vowed to retaliate after it accused Israel of bombing its embassy complex in Syria on Monday, in a deadly escalation of regional tensions over the war in Gaza that once again appeared to raise the risk of a wider Middle Eastern conflict.
The airstrike destroyed the consulate building in the capital Damascus, killing at least seven officials including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and senior commander Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
At least 6 Syrian citizens were also killed, Iranian state television reported on Tuesday.
Zahedi, a former commander of the IRGC’s ground forces, air force, and the deputy commander of its operations, is the most high-profile Iranian target killed since then-US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.
Iran and Syria accused Israel of authoring the attack, with Tehran warning of a “serious response,” and the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah saying the strike will be met with “punishment and revenge.” Iran also said it would hold the United States “answerable” due to its support of Israel.
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would be punished for the attack, while President Ebrahim Raisi said it will “not go unanswered,” state news agency IRNA reported.
The Israeli military told CNN it does not comment on foreign reports. However, a military spokesperson…
Read moreIsrael has been trying to start a big war for decades.
They expect that the US and the EU will just fight this war on their behalf.
I sincerely hope the US and EU will eventually stay out of it. To a great extent this is up to us, voters and citizens forcing our own governments to stop supporting this settler colonial project.
It bombed the building annex next to the Iranian embassy where senior IRGC members were meeting and planning among other items, military operations against Israel.
@QuirkyPuddingForward4wks4W
Targeted Iranian consulate; bombed aid vehicles, killing WCK foreign staff. After retreating from Al Shifa, left behind evidence of the war's most appalling holocaust and massacre—all on the same day. Complete disregard for consequences and, of course, zero accountability.
I fear they may be doing this deliberately to set a new standard which the US will then use in its descent into savagery as it rages against the dying of its imperial light. The US's reaction will be informative in that regard. If they say nothing, then we'll know they agree and likely mean to follow suit.
This is happening because Israel has been given a free hand by the elites of this world. Israel is committing every possible crime shamelessly.
Interesting factoid: Iran and Iraq maintained embassies in Tehran/Baghdad for 6 years during the Iran-Iraq war. To my knowledge, embassy staff were never harmed, despite the brutality of that war.
@G3rrymanderGrizzlyGreen4wks4W
Because Arabs and Persians have a strong moral code, which some few other 'cultures' apparently don't.
@FalconJohnnyGreen4wks4W
There is no overstating just how absolutely insane this is. There is no precedent - NONE - of a state deliberately bombing an embassy. It didn't even happen during WW1, WW2 or even the 19th century. Heck even during the medieval era and Roman empire, the protection of envoys and messengers - even from enemy states - was a recognized norm.
The only other historical instance was NATO bombing the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, killing 3 Chinese journalists, but the U.S. profusely apologized, Bill Clinton publicly said it was a mistake (something China still doesn't believe to this… Read more
“The heinous regime will be punished by the hands of our courageous men,” The Iranian supreme leader vowed revenge for the deadly Israeli airstrikes on Iran's consulate in Syria.
If there was any doubt, Iran and Israel have now left the proxy stage behind & are entering direct conflict.
Iran is pressed to respond directly, not through its preferred method of proxies, because Israel raised the stakes by openly attacking its sovereign diplomatic territory using F35s. Iran's credibility & regional deterrence is now at stake. So Iran will respond using its own forces… Read more
@ISIDEWITH4wks4W
@ISIDEWITH4wks4W
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