Iranian leaders renewed their promises to hit back after an airstrike widely blamed on Israel destroyed Iran’s Consulate in Syria, killing 12 people, including two elite Iranian generals. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday the attack “will not remain without answer.” Iran and its allies — including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen — have repeatedly traded fire with Israel and the U.S. since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza. By attacking an Iranian diplomatic station, Israel’s apparent escalation has raised fears that the devastating six-month war against Hamas could spill over into the entire Mideast region and beyond.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Iran’s Vow for Retaliation: Following an airstrike that hit Iran’s Consulate in Syria, killing 12, including two high-ranking Iranian generals, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi promised a response, signaling potential escalation in regional tensions.
- Regional Impact: The airstrike, attributed to Israel, adds to the ongoing exchanges of fire involving Iran, its allies like Hezbollah, and Israel and the U.S., amid the broader conflict in Gaza, raising concerns of wider Mideast conflict.
- International Concerns: Israel faces increasing global criticism, particularly after the killing of six foreign aid workers in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis looms with much of the northern population nearing starvation.
- Casualty Figures: The conflict in Gaza has resulted in nearly 33,000 Palestinian deaths, with a significant portion being women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The conflict began with a Hamas-led attack on Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians.
- Iranian Leadership’s Statements: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Raisi have both issued statements promising retaliation against Israel for the airstrike, indicating heightened tensions.
- Airstrike Details: The attack on Iran’s diplomatic site in Syria marks a significant escalation in Israel’s campaign against Iranian military figures and affiliates in the region, previously intensified post-October 7 Hamas attack.
- Diplomatic Immunity Violation: The destruction of the Iranian Consulate contravenes the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic immunity, underlining the gravity of the incident in international relations.
The Associated Press has the story:
Iran promises payback for Israel’s strike that killed top Generals
Newslopoks- TEHRAN, Iran —(AP)
Iranian leaders on Wednesday reiterated their calls for revenge after an apparent Israeli airstrike killed five members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard this week, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will continue to fail on the battlefield in Gaza, and its defeats will bring it closer to collapse.
“Desperate efforts like the act they committed in Syria will not save them from defeat and they will be slapped for the action, too,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency, during a meeting with officials Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said the attack “will not remain without answer.”
The airstrike Monday was widely blamed on Israel, and destroyed Iran’s Consulate in Damascus. It’s not clear if and when Iran would respond, but any retaliation from Tehran would risk a dangerous confrontation with Israel and the U.S.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said the attack “will not remain without answer.”
In Syria, a funeral was held for the slain Revolutionary Guard members at a holy Shiite shrine in Damascus, media reported. The main funeral ceremony will be held Friday in Iran during an annual pro-Palestine rally, called al-Quds day.
The deadliest strike on an Iranian diplomatic site in decades appears to signify an escalation of Israel’s targeting of Iranian military officials and their allies in Syria. Those Israeli strikes have intensified since Hamas militants — who are supported by Iran — attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Under the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic immunity, the premises of a diplomatic mission are inviolable.
Israel faces growing isolation as international criticism mounts over its killing of six foreign aid workers this week who were helping deliver desperately needed food in Gaza. The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed nearly 33,000 Palestinians, the territory’s Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.
Currently:
— Family and friends recall ‘brave’ and ‘selfless’ aid workers killed in Israeli airstrikes.
— Tehran vows response after strike blamed on Israel destroyed Iran’s Consulate in Syria and killed 12.
— Palestinians seek full U.N. membership again, but the U.S. is almost certain to block it for a second time.
— Forced from their Gaza home by Israeli troops, a family makes a terrifying escape through a war zone.
— World Central Kitchen is saving lives with food but paying a price in blood.
— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
