01 Apr 2024 | 05:18 PM UTC
Syria: Suspected Israeli airstrike reportedly destroys Iranian Consulate in Damascus April 1 /update 2
Suspected Israeli projectiles destroy Iran's Consulate building in Damascus, Syria, April 1, killing several people and escalating tensions.
A suspected Israeli airstrike reportedly hit and destroyed the Iranian Consulate building in Damascus April 1. While Syrian authorities claimed that their air defenses intercepted some missiles fired as part of the attack, others impacted the building, leveling it and killing several people, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who served as a senior commander within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Unconfirmed reports indicate that the airstrike killed at least eight people. The number of reported casualties will likely rise over the coming hours.
While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately issue a public acknowledgment of the suspected cross-border attack, it has regularly targeted Syrian and Iranian military infrastructure across Syria.
Emergency personnel have deployed to the scene; authorities will likely keep a heightened security presence around the impacted site over the coming hours. Transport disruptions are likely in the affected area. Military forces in Syria and northern Israel will almost certainly maintain an increased security posture over the coming days. Iran-backed retaliatory attacks will likely target Israel and Israeli interests in the region over the coming weeks. Further airstrikes and exchanges of cross-border fire are possible over the short term.
Exercise caution and avoid all military sites in Syria. Heed the instructions of local security forces. If airstrikes, artillery fire, or warning sirens are reported in the general vicinity, take cover in the nearest bomb shelter and remain there until further instructions are issued by authorities.
The suspected Israeli airstrike against Tehran's Consulate building dramatically escalates tensions between Israel and Iran. The strike, which comes against a background of multiple Israeli strikes in Syria and Lebanon in recent days, will almost certainly trigger Iran-backed retaliatory attacks against Israel and its interests in the region. The strike also comes amid intense daily cross-border clashes between the IDF and Lebanese Hizballah (LH) militants along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
