Iran warned Israel and the United States on Tuesday that
it will respond
to the attack that killed 13 people the day before, including seven members of its Revolutionary Guard in Damascus, in an operation that threatens to fuel tensions in the Middle East.
The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that "the evil Zionist regime will be punished" and the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, assured that
this "cowardly crime will not go unanswered
. "
"Day after day we witness the strengthening of the resistance front and the disgust and hatred of free nations against the illegitimate nature" of Israel, Raisi said.
The Iranian president condemned the "inhuman, aggressive and despicable act of invasion and flagrant violation of international norms."
According to him, Israel "put indiscriminate killings on the agenda" after having suffered "repeated defeats and failures against the faith and will of the Resistance Front" but "it must know that it will never achieve its sinister objectives with such inhuman means."
The bombing, blamed on Israel, against the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, left thirteen dead, seven of whom were Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
An ambulance, in front of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, after the attack of which they accuse Israel. Photo: REUTERS
The attacks included "six missiles fired by F-35 fighters," according to Tehran, and were
the first directed against an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria,
a country in civil war since 2011 and where Iran and its allies support the government of President Bashar al-Assad. .
Message to the United States
Iran also sent "an important message to the United States" in which it stressed that
Washington "must be held responsible"
for the attack, due to its support for Israel.
The message, the content of which was not revealed, was transmitted to "an official at the Swiss embassy", which represents US interests in Iran, said Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
For its part,
the United States assured Iran that it "is not involved" in the attack on the building
that housed the consulate and the residence of the Iranian ambassador in Syria, according to a US official cited by the Axios news site.
Emergency teams work at the headquarters of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the target of a bombing attributed to Israel. Photo: AFP
The UN Security Council scheduled a public session on the attack for Tuesday, requested by the Russian representative to the world body, Dmitri Polianski, cited by the official TASS news agency.
Iran called on the Security Council to "condemn this terrorist attack perpetrated by the Israeli regime in the strongest possible terms."
Tehran, which supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, vowed to respond to the attack.
Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme National Security Council met on Monday night, in Raisi's presence, and made the "necessary decisions," it said in a statement, without providing further details.
For its part, the Chinese government condemned the bombing on Tuesday, said the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy.
"The security of diplomatic institutions cannot be violated and Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be respected," Wang Wenbin said.
Europe asks to lower tension
The European Union on Tuesday called
for moderation
following the attack attributed to Israel against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, which left some 13 people dead.
"We are alarmed by the alleged Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic building in the Syrian capital (...) It is important to show restraint," said a spokesman for the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.
In turn, Iraq stressed Tuesday that the attack in Syria could bring
"more chaos and instability" to the Middle East
, amid fears that the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip could become a regional conflagration. .
Iran has repeatedly declared its support for Hamas and accuses Israel of causing "genocide" but has denied any direct intervention in the conflict.
Source: AFP
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