Iran has issued a stern warning of retaliation against Israel following an airstrike that claimed the lives of two of its top generals and five other military advisers at the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus. The attack, which occurred on Monday night, has escalated tensions in the region and raised concerns about further violence.
The conflict in the Middle East has been exacerbated by the ongoing Gaza war, with Tehran previously avoiding direct confrontation with Israel while supporting allies engaged in attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets. However, the recent attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus has prompted an unprecedented response from Iranian leaders.
While Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the airstrike, a senior Israeli government official speaking on condition of anonymity suggested that the targets had been involved in numerous attacks on Israeli and American assets and had plans for additional strikes. The official emphasized that the embassy itself was not the intended target of the attack.
In response to the airstrike, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge, stating that the “Zionist regime will be punished by the hands of our brave men.” Khamenei’s political advisor, Ali Shamkhani, also accused the United States of direct responsibility for the attack, regardless of whether it was aware of the intentions behind it.
The attack resulted in casualties not only among Iranian military personnel but also among members of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. This incident marks one of the boldest moves by Israel in its years-long campaign of airstrikes against Iranian or Iran-backed targets in Syria.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the attack as a cowardly crime and vowed that it would not go unanswered. The Iranian government has called on the United Nations Security Council to condemn the attack and has reserved the right to take a decisive response.
