Top Iranian military commanders were among the seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials that were killed in an airstrike on the country’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria according to Iranian officials and state run media which blamed Israeli forces for the attack.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said that senior IRGC commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack. Hajji Rahimi was named as the second commander killed in the attack, according to the IRGC statement shared by the state news agency IRNA later today morning.
The IRGC statement also named the other five officials who were killed as Hossein Aman Elahi, Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sedaghat, Ali Aghababaee and Ali Salehi Roozbahani.
People gathered around the flattened building in Syria’s capital Damascus according to photographs of the scene. Footage of the aftermath of the blast, published by Iranian state media press TV, showed extensive damage, fire and smoke at the scene.
Speaking on camera to reporters in Damascus, Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari alleged that the consulate building l, located next to the Iranian embassy, “ was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.
Iranian embassy staff and military advisers were among the demand, he added. It is unclear if any of the IRCG officials were diplomatic staff and the casualties cannot be independently verified.
In a separate interview, Akbari said that two Syrian policemen were also injured in the attack, which he said “is perhaps the first time the Zionist regime allows itself to attack an official building in of the Islamic Republic of Iran Embassy, which had the flag of the Islamic Republic raised on top of it.
Iranian foreign minister has warned of possible reciprocal measures following the incident with both foreign ministers accusing Israel of authorizing the attack.
Zahedi, the slain commander was previously the commander of IRGC’s ground forces and the commander of IRGC’s air force, and the deputy commander of the IRGC’s operation.
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group issued a statement on Tuesday local time, accusing Israel of the strike and warned that Israel would pay, vowing revenge.
Tension in Middle East have continued to ensue as lsrael also blames lran for being the major actor in the Middle East crisis where lsrael has had cross border missile exchanges with its neighbours, fighting the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Hamas in Gaza and Houthis in Yemen.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad described the strike as a gross violation of the lnternational law especially the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
