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Omar Sanadiki/AP
Emergency providers work at a destroyed constructing hit by an air strike in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Picture/Omar Sanadiki)
CNN
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Prime Iranian army commanders have been among the many seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) officers killed in an airstrike on the nation’s consulate constructing in Damascus, Syria, in keeping with Iranian officers and state-affiliated media, which blamed Israel for the assault.
Iran’s International Ministry mentioned that senior IRGC commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was killed within the assault. Haji Rahimi was named because the second commander killed within the assault, in keeping with the IRGC assertion shared by state information company IRNA in a while Monday.
The IRGC assertion named 5 different officers who have been killed: Hossein Aman Elahi, Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sedaghat, Ali Aghababaee, and Ali Salehi Roozbahani.
Folks gathered across the flattened constructing in Syria’s capital, in keeping with images of the scene. Footage of the aftermath of the blast, printed by Iranian state media Press TV, confirmed in depth harm, fireplace and smoke on the scene.
Talking on digital camera to reporters in Damascus, Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari alleged that the consulate constructing, positioned subsequent to the Iranian embassy, “was focused with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.”
Iranian embassy employees and army advisers have been among the many useless, he added. It’s unclear if any of the IRCG officers have been diplomatic employees and CNN can’t independently confirm the claims or casualty figures.
In a separate interview, Akbari added that two Syrian policemen have been additionally among the many injured within the assault, which he mentioned “is probably the primary time that the Zionist regime permits itself to assault an official constructing of the Islamic Republic of Iran embassy, which had the flag of the Islamic Republic raised on high of it.”
Requested for touch upon the incident by CNN, the Israel Protection Forces mentioned it doesn’t touch upon overseas stories. Nonetheless, a army spokesperson advised CNN that Israel believes the Iranian constructing hit within the assault is a “army constructing of Quds forces” and never a consulate.
Mehr Information Company
Iran accuses Israel of killing Iranian army commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi and others in airstrike on consulate in Syria
“In response to our intelligence, that is no consulate and that is no embassy. I repeat, that is no consulate and that is no embassy. This can be a army constructing of Quds forces disguised as a civilian constructing in Damascus,” Israeli Protection Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari advised CNN’s Jim Sciutto. CNN can’t confirm the declare.
When requested if Israel was concerned within the assault, Hagari mentioned, “I’m not going to touch upon that strike however I need to inform you that within the final six months, Iran is making this area escalate. She’s the principle actor.”
“[Iran] is the principle actor that makes atrocities on this area utilizing the proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen,” Hagari mentioned.
“Even this morning, an Iranian UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] has hit an Israeli base in Eilat,” Hagari claimed. “Iran is an actor that brings escalation.”
4 unnamed Israeli officers acknowledged that Israel carried out the assault in Damascus, the New York Instances reported.
Iran’s overseas ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, warned of doable “reciprocal measures,” following the incident.
“Iran preserves the best to take reciprocal measures and can determine the kind of response and punishment towards the aggressor,” Kanaani mentioned, in keeping with IRGC-affiliated Fars Information.
The overseas ministers of Iran and Syria additionally accused Israel of authoring the assault, with Iranian International Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian calling it a “violation of all worldwide obligations and conventions” and demanding a “critical response” from the worldwide neighborhood.
Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Photos
Emergency personnel extinguish a hearth on the web site of strikes, which hit a constructing subsequent to the Iranian embassy in Syria’s capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024.
Syrian International Minister Faisal Mekdad described the strike as a “gross violation of worldwide laws, particularly the 1961 Vienna Conference on Diplomatic Relations,” in keeping with a readout of his name with Amir-Abdollahian.
Zahedi, the slain commander, was beforehand the commander of IRGC’s floor forces, the commander of IRGC’s air drive, and the deputy commander of the IRGC’s operations.
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group issued a press release on Tuesday native time, accusing Israel of the strike, and warned that Israel would pay, vowing revenge.
United States State Division spokesperson Matthew Miller mentioned the US didn’t “have affirmation both of the goal or the accountable get together” at a briefing on Monday.
“Earlier than now we have gathered details about what precisely this was, I don’t need to communicate to it particularly,” Miller added. “However in fact, we’re all the time involved about something that will be escalatory or trigger a rise in battle within the area.”
The Russian International Ministry “strongly condemned” the assault in a press release printed on its web site on Monday, saying “any assaults on diplomatic and consular services to be categorically unacceptable.”
It additionally referred to as on “the Israeli management to desert the observe of provocative army actions in Syria and different neighboring international locations, which may result in the extraordinarily harmful penalties all through the area.”
This can be a creating story and will probably be up to date.
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