After air strike on consulate
Revolutionary Guard chief threatens Israel with retaliation
April 5, 2024, 7:22 p.m
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An airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus kills high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Guard. Tehran sees Israel behind the attack and announces a response. Israel, on the other hand, is already warning Iran of possible consequences.
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has vowed retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital Damascus. “No threat will go unanswered,” General Hossein Salami said in Tehran after thousands chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” at the funeral of Guard members killed in the attack. The funeral coincided with the so-called Jerusalem Day, which is a demonstration of support for the Palestinians in Iran.
Referring to the Gaza war, Salami said: “Resistance groups in Gaza are surrounded by Israel (…) and weapons cannot be brought to them.” Israel’s survival depends on support from the USA. These would be hated worldwide. Israel’s downfall is “very possible and, with God’s help, near,” he said.
It was not known whether Iran would respond directly to the attack or whether it would activate pro-Iranian militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthis in Yemen. In total, twelve people were killed in Monday’s attack on the diplomatic mission in Damascus: two brigadier generals and five other members of the Revolutionary Guard, four Syrians and a Hezbollah member. The Revolutionary Guards are Iran’s elite armed forces and are considered more powerful than the conventional armed forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already threatened consequences if Iran attacked his country. “For years, Iran has been acting against us both directly and through its proxies; that is why Israel is taking action against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday evening.
“We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle: whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them too,” Netanyahu said at the start of a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet his office announced. The Israeli government and its ally the United States are very concerned that Iran is preparing for an imminent attack, the news portal Axios quoted American and Israeli officials as saying.