'Israel' violated intl. law by attacking Iranian consulate: UN experts
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The experts said that before the Israeli attack, there was no evidence of a direct or indirect attack by Iran on the occupation.
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In this photo released by the official Syrian state news agency SANA, emergency service workers clear the rubble following the Israeli strike in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 1, 2024 (AP)
The Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus violated international law, a group of UN experts working with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Special rapporteurs and independent experts said in a report published by OCHA that "retaliatory military attacks between Israel and Iran violate the right to life and must cease immediately."
The experts stressed that "All countries are prohibited from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life in military operations abroad, including when countering terrorism."
"Killings in foreign territory are arbitrary when they are not authorized under international law," they added.
Addressing the over-used self-defense claims by "Israel", the experts said that the attack on the Iranian consulate on April 1 is not as such as there is no evidence of an Iranian direct or indirect "armed attack" on the occupation.
In addition, the experts elaborated that "Israel" did not adhere to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter by not providing any legal justification for its strike on the Iranian consulate and by not reporting it to the Security Council.
"Israel’s attack consequently violated the prohibition on the use of armed force against another state under Article 2(4) of the Charter," the experts said.
The Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus
The commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was killed in an Israeli attack that targeted the Iranian consulate in Syria in the al-Mazzeh neighborhood, Damascus, Syria, on the afternoon of April 1, Syrian and Iranian state media reported.
Iranian state television confirmed that the aggression targeted the Iranian consulate building and the residence of the Iranian ambassador in Damascus. It later confirmed that the Quds Force Commander in Lebanon and Syria was killed in the attack.
In further details, the Iranian state television said that the Israeli attack targeted the residence of the Iranian ambassador to Syria.
Later, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported from the vicinity of the Iranian consulate in Damascus that 7 were martyred and several others were wounded in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression, confirming that search and rescue operations are underway at the site of the Iranian consulate, which was completely destroyed.
