(Updated with details)
DAMASCUS, April 1 (Reuters) –
Suspected Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard official, military officials and diplomats, in what represents an apparent escalation of the Middle East conflict between Israel, opposed to Iran and its allies.
Reuters journalists at the scene in the Mezzeh district of the Syrian capital reported that rescuers were working through the rubble of a destroyed building inside the diplomatic compound, adjacent to the main embassy building. Iranian. An Iranian flag hung on a pole opposite the debris.
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The Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers were seen at the scene.
“We strongly condemn this atrocious terrorist attack which targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed a number of innocent people,” said Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.
Since the attack by Hamas, a group supported by Tehran, in Israel on October 7, the Jewish state has intensified its air attacks in Syria against the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two movements supported by Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Iranian Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari, who was not injured in the attack, said five people were killed in an Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus.
Hossein Akbari added that Iran’s response will be “severe”, Iranian state television reported.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards confirmed in a statement the deaths of seven military advisers, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, senior commander of the Al Quds Force responsible for external operations.
Iranian state media reported that Tehran believed Mohammad Reza Zahedi was the target of the attack. His deputy and other senior commanders were also killed.
Israel launched the attack from the Golan Heights, Syrian territory annexed by the Jewish state in 1981, according to Syrian state media, citing a military source.
Syrian state media report at least six deaths and several injured.
Several Iranian diplomats were killed in the airstrike attributed to Israel, according to Iranian state television.
An Israeli army spokesperson said it would not comment on “information reported in foreign media.
The Iranian news agency Tasnim reported the deaths of five people in the attack, the Syrian news agency SANA reported deaths and injuries.
Syrian state television confirmed that the consulate building had been attacked. Earlier, Iranian media reported that the ambassador’s residence and the Iranian consulate were targeted, without giving further details.
(Reuters; French version Zhifan Liu)
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