Iranian demonstrators burn the American and Israeli flags in Tehran to protest the attack (French)

The United States informed Iran on Tuesday that it had nothing to do with the attack on its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, while Iran threatened Israel to respond, and summoned the charge d'affaires of the Swiss embassy to send an "important message" to Washington as Israel's "protector." It also requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council. international report on the attack.

The Axios website, quoting an unnamed American official, reported that the United States informed Iran that it had “no role or prior knowledge of the Israeli attack on a diplomatic compound in Syria.”

For his part, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed an appropriate response to the attack, saying, "The Zionist entity must realize that this cowardly crime will not remain without a response."

In Tehran, the official Iranian "IRNA" agency quoted Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying that his ministry summoned at dawn today the charge d'affaires of the Swiss embassy in Tehran as a sponsor of American interests in Iran, following the attack on the Iranian consulate.

Abdullahian said that "an important message was sent to the American administration in its capacity as a protector of the Zionist entity," stressing that Washington must "take responsibility."

Abdullahian did not reveal the details of the letter, but he said that during the summoning session of the Swiss diplomat, “the dimensions of the terrorist attack and the crime of the Israeli entity were explained, and the responsibility of the American administration was emphasized.”

internationalization

In conjunction with the summoning of the Swiss diplomat, Iran requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the attack launched by Israel on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus.

IRNA reported that Iran's permanent delegation to the United Nations sent a letter to the rotating president of the Security Council and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, following the attack.

The letter explained that these attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international laws, and the basic principle of the immunity of diplomatic and consular premises, as stipulated in the Treaty on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, as well as the Convention for the Punishment of Crimes Committed against Persons under International Protection. , including diplomatic personnel, of 1973.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in New York reported that the Security Council will hold - at the request of Russia - an urgent session to discuss the attack on the Iranian consulate. The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, holding Israel responsible, and warning of extremely dangerous repercussions for the region.

Israeli alert

In Israel - which announced that it would not comment on the attack - instructions were issued to Israeli embassies around the world to strengthen their security measures, following the attack on the Iranian consulate.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted a warning statement from Israeli diplomats saying, "We ask you to continue to take preventive measures and pay more attention during routine operations."

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation explained that there has already been a state of alert in Israel's embassies since last October 7, but after the assassination of the Iranian official in Damascus, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the state of alert in those embassies will be raised.

Yesterday, Monday, an Israeli attack targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus with six missiles, and the American New York Times quoted 4 unnamed Israeli officials as saying that Israel was responsible for the attack.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that the attack claimed the lives of two generals, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the Guard in Syria and Lebanon, and his deputy, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, in addition to 5 other officers accompanying them.

Arab and Islamic countries condemned the attack, including Qatar, the UAE, the Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan. The Lebanese Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) in Yemen also condemned the attack.

Hezbollah warned that Israel would pay the price for the killing of senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, stressing that "this crime will not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge."

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies