Airstrike hit a building attached to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus; Iranian president says attack will be met with response
The United States warned Iran not to retaliate for the air strike that hit a building attached to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria, on Monday (April 1) and left 8 people dead. At a meeting on Tuesday (April 2, 2024) of the UN Security Council (United Nations), the North American representative said that his country had not received any prior warning about the attack.
The Syrian and Iranian governments blamed Israel for the attack. Israeli authorities have not yet commented on the case. On Tuesday (April 2), the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, said that the attack “will not go unanswered”.
The US representative to the UN Security Council, Robert Wood, stated that Iran and partner groups “need to avoid escalating tensions in the region”.
He said Americans have repeatedly warned that Iran should not “to enjoy” the conflict between Israel and Hamas to expand its “proxy war” against the Israelis and their allies, including the USA. “Iran ignored this warning,” Wood declared.
According to the American, his country has no confirmation that the building that was hit in Damascus belonged to the Iranian Embassy. “Any confirmed attack on a property that is a diplomatic facility would be of concern to the United States.“, he said.
Iran sent a letter to the UN Security Council on Monday (April 1), asking the body to condemn the attack. In the document (in full, in English – PDF – 2 MB), the country speaks of “flagrant violation” of fundamental norms and principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the principle of inviolability of diplomatic and consular installations.
UN CONDEMNS ATTACK
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack. In a statement, Guterres’ spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said that “the secretary-general reaffirms that the principle of inviolability of diplomatic and consular facilities and personnel must be respected in all cases, in accordance with international law”.
Guterres asked that “everyone involved“exercise”maximum containment and avoid further escalation” of tensions in the region. The UN Secretary-General declared “that any miscalculation could lead to a wider conflict in an already volatile region, with devastating consequences for civilians”.
