The Iranian Revolutionary Guard confirmed late Monday that seven of its members, including two senior officers, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
In a strongly worded statement, the Revolutionary Guard decried the attack, identifying among the deceased Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, and his deputy, Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Hajji Rahimi.
Additionally, advisors Hossein Amanollahi, Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sadeghat, and Ali Agha Babaei were reported killed.
The Guard’s statement attributed the “criminal Israeli operation” in Damascus to Israel’s unrecoverable defeats and the resilience of Gaza’s inhabitants.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the death toll from the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus rose to 11, including eight Iranians, two Syrians, and one Lebanese, all combatants with no civilians among the casualties, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Observatory, speaking to Agence France-Presse.
In related developments, the Observatory reported that Iran-backed armed groups attacked the U.S. base at Al-Tanf in Syria with a drone following the Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. The armed groups had paused their attacks on the base for over a month.
“Ground defenses at Al-Tanf base shot down a suicide drone in the battalion area, four kilometers from the base,” with no immediate reports of damage, the Observatory added.
Meanwhile, Israeli news site Ynet reported Monday evening that air raid sirens sounded in the Golan Heights to warn of an aircraft infiltrating Israeli airspace, with the Israeli military announcing the activation of northern country’s air raid sirens without providing further details.
Earlier, Syria’s Defense Ministry stated that Israel launched an aerial attack targeting the Iranian consulate building, resulting in the death and injury of everyone inside and the complete destruction of the building.
