Senior Iranian commander killed in Israeli strike, says Iran state media
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- A suspected Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus, Syrian state media report
- Photos show smoke and dust rising from the flattened multi-storey structure in the west of the city
- A senior Revolutionary Guards commander Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi is among the dead, Iranian state media says
- The Israeli military says it does not comment on foreign media reports
- The Syrian defence ministry said Israeli aircraft targeted the consulate building at about 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT)
- The UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says eight people were killed
- Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks on Iranian-linked targets in Syria in the past few years, but rarely acknowledges the strikes
Live Reporting
Edited by Nadia Ragozhina
All times stated are UK
Iran blames Israel for commander's death
Baran Abbasi
BBC Persian
BrigadierGeneral Mohammad Reza Zahedi was an important figure in the Quds Force, theoverseas branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
He joined theIRGC 44 years ago and quickly rose to a top rank. He served as the commander ofthe Syria and Lebanon operation of the IRGC from 2008 to 2016, during which hisforces fought in support of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.
Iranian media have been sharing a picture of him with Imad Mughniyeh, thenumber two in Hezbollah's leadership who was assassinated in a car bomb in2008.
Iran has blamed Israel for Zahedi’s death, in a sign of escalatingtensions between the two countries.
In a phone call with his Syriancounterpart, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian condemned thestrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
He said Israel had “violated allits international commitments and conventions” and that it would be heldresponsible for such “criminal actions”.
Iranian foreign ministry's website quoted Abdollahian saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "completely lost his mental balance" after "repeated defeats in Gaza".
HosseinAkbari, Iran’s Ambassador to Damascus, said that the attack on the Iranianconsulate showed “Israel did not recognize any international laws and was readytake any kind of inhumane action to achieve its goals”.
Where did the strike happen?
The Iranian embassy and consulate buildings are located in the centre of Damascus.
Copyright: BBCWatch: Emergency workers spray smoking rubble
Masses of rubble and twisted metal are all that's left of the building in Damascus - here's some of the latest footage we've been getting from the scene:
Video content
Video caption: Iranian consulate in Damascus destroyed following air strike White House ‘aware’ of reports Iranian consulate hit
The White House has confirmed that President Joe Biden is “aware” of Iranian media reports that its consulate in Syria was hit by an airstrike earlier today.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has told reporters that a team was "looking into it”.
The Israeli military has said it doesn’t comment on foreign media reports.
What do we know so far?
The situation is developing quickly but this is what we know so far:
- Syrian state media is reporting that a suspected Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus
- Pictures show smoke and dust rising from the flattened multi-storey structure located on a highway in the western Mezzeh district
- One Iranian news agency said five people were killed, while a UK-based monitoring group put the toll at eight
- A Lebanese security source told Reuters news agency that those killed included a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Reza Zahedi
- The Israeli military said it didn't comment on foreign media reports
- The Syrian military said earlier that its air defences had intercepted "hostile targets" in the vicinity of Damascus
Copyright: ReutersIsraeli air strike destroys Iranian consulate in Syria, says state media
Nadia Ragozhina
Live reporter
An Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus, killing and wounding several people, Syrian authorities say.
Iranian state media say several diplomats have been killed in the strike in the west of the city.
A senior commander in the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, is among the dead according to state media.
After the strike, the Israeli military said it did not comment on foreign media reports.
Stay with us as we bring you all the latest on this developing story.
