Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said his country will not start a war but will "respond forcefully" to anyone who intimidates it.
"We will not start any war, but if someone wants to mistreat us he will receive a strong response," Raisi said in a televised address, state media reported.
An adviser to Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been killed in an alleged Israeli attack in Damascus, a semi-official Iranian news site reported, echoed by Haaretz.
The Syrian army, the Guardian reports, claims to have shot down a series of Israeli missiles launched from the Golan Heights that were targeting southern Damascus.
According to Reuters online, news of an explosion near Damascus had already spread last night.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.
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