Iran Warns No More Safe Israeli Embassy

ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Bowunan Tabriz in Iran/Yassin Mohammadi

JAKARTA - Senior Iranian military officials warned that no single Israeli diplomatic mission was safe again after this week's attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria.

Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, top military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said none of the Israeli embassies were safe at this time, which is why Israel closed 28 embassies this week.

As reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Monday, April 8, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the missile attack on April 1 over a building that served as a consular wing of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria, "violated international law" because officials over Iran's military were there to fulfill an invitation from Syria.

A total of 13 people were killed in the attack, including seven members of the IRGC, which caused Iranian authorities to blame Israel.

Among those killed were General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the IRGC Quds Forces in Syria and Lebanon, and his deputy General Hadi Haj Rahemi.

Safavi said Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei had vowed to "slap regret" against Israel and that "front resistance" was ready to retaliate.

"We have to wait and see what happens," the senior military official said, confirming speculation that Iran is considering its choice to retaliate against the Damascus attack.

According to media reports, Israel's 28 diplomatic missions in East Asia have been closed in recent days in anticipation of Iran's retaliation.

In a statement on Tuesday, April 2, a day after the attack, Khamenei said Israel would be punished in the hands of our brave people, adding that the Iranian military would make Israel realize the crime.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who started a regional tour on Sunday, met with senior Yemeni Houthi official Mohammad Abdul Salam in the capital of Oman, Muscat.

He said the attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus was carried out on US-made aircraft and missiles, and vowed to "ask the criminal attackers to be held accountable".

Amir-Abdollahian is also scheduled to visit Damascus, according to reports.

The attack comes amid rising tensions in the region sparked by Israel's deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip and related developments, including attacks on Israeli and US interests in the region by Iranian ally groups in Iraq and Yemen.