International Desk:

An Iranian flag hangs as smoke rises after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, April 1, 2024; Photo: Reuters

Israel carried out a terrible attack on the annex building of the Iranian consulate in Syria, killing at least 8 people including a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The occupational Israeli forces attacked Damascus, the capital of Syria on Monday (April 1).

“Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Mezzeh district in Damascus,” Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Sources in the Lebanese security forces informed that the name of the IRGC commander killed in the Israeli attack is Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm.

Reuters reported that Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in the Mezzeh district of Damascus. The building caught fire after the attack. Several emergency services vehicles were seen near the scene.

Meanwhile, when contacted by Reuters to find out about the attack, occupying Israel refused to comment. “We (the Israeli military) do not comment on foreign media reports,” a military spokesman said.

However, Syrian state television confirmed the attack on the Iranian consulate. Earlier, media reports in Iran said that a building next to the consulate was also attacked. An Iranian news agency reported that the attack targeted the residence of the consulate and the ambassador.

Meanwhile, both the Syrian foreign minister and the interior minister were seen at the scene. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said, “We strongly condemn the brutal Israeli terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed many innocent people.”

However, Hossein Akbari, the Iranian ambassador to Syria, and none of his family members were injured in the Israeli attack. They were not present at the consulate building, confirmed the Iranian news agency Noor News.

Mentioning that Iran’s response would be “harsh” to Israel, the ambassador told Iranian state TV that five to seven people, including some diplomats, had been killed.

Iran’s state media reported that the target of Israel’s attack was Zahedi. Four people, including his deputy and another senior commander, were killed.

Iran’s Arabic Al Alam television reported that Zahedi was a Syrian military adviser who served as head of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016.

Earlier last week, Israel carried out a major attack in Syria. 53 people were killed in that attack, among them, 38 were Syrian soldiers and 7 were Hezbollah fighters. It was the largest Israeli attack in Syria since the start of the war between the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israel last year.