According to Syria and Iran, Israeli warplanes are behind the attack on the consulate, located in central Damascus. According to unconfirmed reports, six people have been killed in the attack that completely destroyed the consulate.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard states that two generals and five officers have been killed, AP reports.
According to Iranian state media, senior general Mohammad Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says Israel will be held responsible for the attack, which he calls “a violation of all international conventions.”
Israel has not commented on the data.
Several attacks on Syria
In recent days, Israel has carried out several airstrikes against targets inside Syria. On Sunday, Israeli warplanes carried out attacks on a research facility in Jamraya just outside Damascus. Two people were killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Last week, Israel was singled out as responsible for an airstrike near Aleppo in Syria, where the Islamist movement Hezbollah is believed to have been targeted. At least 42 people – 36 Syrian soldiers and six members of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah – were killed, according to SOHR.
The expert: A serious signal
Monday’s attack is the first to have hit a foreign mission, says Alexander Atarodi, Middle East expert and former researcher at FOI.
– There is always respect for diplomatic values, even in wartime. So that is a serious signal in itself, he says.
Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador to Syria, and Faisal Mekdad, Syria’s foreign minister, have both condemned Israel. According to Alexander Atarodi, it can increase the pressure on Iran to act, which has not happened in previous attacks.
– It comes at a very inopportune time in the region, he says.
The action could be diplomatic, military or economic, he believes.
– It has raised the risks of further confrontation in one way or another.