Israel bombs Iranian embassy in Syria; Guard commander is among the dead

Reportedly Israeli fighter jets bombed Iran’s embassy in Syria this Monday, 1st, in an escalation of Israel’s war against Iran’s regional representatives, destroying a building in an attack that, according to the Iranian government, killed an important Revolutionary Guard commander and several diplomats.

The reporters from Reuters who were at the scene, in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, saw rescuers climbing over the rubble of a destroyed building inside the diplomatic complex, adjacent to the main embassy building. Emergency vehicles were parked outside. An Iranian flag hung from a flagpole in front of the rubble.

Syria’s foreign and interior ministers were seen at the scene.

Israel has long targeted Iranian military installations and those of its allies in Syria, and has increased such attacks in parallel with its campaign against the Iranian-backed Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Monday’s attack was the first time the vast embassy complex was hit.

Israel does not normally comment on attacks by its forces in Syria. Asked about the attack, an Israeli military spokesman said: “We do not comment on foreign media reports.”

Iranian ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari, who was not injured, said at least five people were killed in the attack and that Tehran’s response would be “tough”.

Iranian state media said one of those killed was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that Tehran believed he was the target of the attack. According to Syrian state media, at least six people were killed and several others were injured.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the country preserves the right to take reciprocal action against the Israeli attack on Damascus, according to Iranian state media.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since the attack on Israel by the Iranian-backed Palestinian faction Hamas on October 7, Israel has intensified airstrikes in Syria against the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, both of which support President Bashar’s government. al-Assad.

On Friday, Israel carried out its deadliest strikes in months in Syria’s northern Aleppo province and killed a senior Hezbollah fighter in Lebanon. The country has also regularly attacked airports in Aleppo and Damascus in an attempt to disrupt arms transfers from Iran to its allies.

The Israeli military said on Monday it had prevented advanced weapons, including shrapnel charges and anti-tank mines, from being smuggled from Iran into the West Bank.