After the attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria, new threats come from Tehran. According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, President Ebrahim Raisi says the attack in the Syrian capital Damascus will not go unanswered. The Iranian Foreign Ministry and the ambassador to Syria had previously announced that reactions to the attack were to be expected. Iran attributes the airstrike that left seven dead to Israel.
The fatalities included two brigadier generals and five members of the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment. Israel has repeatedly targeted Iranian military facilities in Syria. There had been no previous attack on the extensive embassy complex in Damascus.
After the air strike, Iran sent an “important message” to the USA. In Tehran, a diplomatic representative from the Swiss Embassy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, Foreign Office Chief Hussein Amirabdollahian announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night. The minister continued to write that the US’s “shared responsibility” as a supporter of Israel was emphasized in the conversation. The minister did not provide any specific information about the content of the “important message” to Washington. Switzerland represents the diplomatic interests of the USA in Iran. The two countries have no longer had diplomatic relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the 444-day hostage-taking of US embassy employees by Iranian revolutionaries.
For its part, the pro-Iranian Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which is fighting against Israel, emphasized that the attack would not be without consequences. The organization declared on Tuesday night: “Surely this crime will not pass without the enemy experiencing punishment and revenge.” The “enemy” still believes that eliminating leaders can “stop the people’s determined resistance,” it said.
Iran is Hezbollah’s largest supporter in Lebanon. The Shiite militia fights politically but also violently against Israel. It is one of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance”. With its own militia, it primarily controls the south of Lebanon on the border with Israel, Shiite-inhabited districts of the capital Beirut and the Bekaa Valley in the north of the country. Hezbollah is also active in Syria. There she fights alongside the government troops of ruler Bashar al-Assad. Iran and Russia are Assad’s main allies in the Syrian civil war.
Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN) described the attack as a violation of the UN Charter, international law and the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular institutions. The attack poses a significant threat to peace and security in the region. The Permanent Mission of Iran is also calling on the UN Security Council to condemn the attack.