Israeli attack on Iran's consulate a terrorist act: Russian diplomat
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Grigory Karasin, head of Russia's Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the comments during a meeting with Iran's Ambassador to Russia, Kasem Jalili.
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In this photo released by the official Syrian state news agency SANA, people gather near a the consular section of the Iranian Embassy struck by Israeli jets in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 1, 2024 (SANA via AP)
According to a Russian diplomat on Tuesdya, "Israel's" strike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus is a terrorist crime that must be denounced worldwide.
TASS news agency reported that Grigory Karasin, head of Russia's Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the comments during a meeting with Iran's Ambassador to Russia, Kasem Jalili.
Karasin expressed that the attack was a "terrorist attack that should be condemned worldwide.
The diplomat emphasized that Russia and Iran had previously advocated condemning the Israeli regime's crimes to the United Nations.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) condemned on Monday evening the Israeli aggression that targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
It also mourned the commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and Brigadier General Mohammad-Hadi Haji-Rahimi, as well as IRGC officers Hossein Amanollahi, Seyyed Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sadaghat, Ali Agha Babaei, and Seyyed Ali Salehi Rouzbahani.
Abu Ahmad Fouad, the head of Arab and national relations in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), indicated Monday evening that the Israeli aggression on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus would not have taken place without being greenlighted by the United States.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen, he stated that the Israeli assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and his companions "is a loss for the Axis of Resistance and the Palestinian people."
Following the attack, the Israeli occupation government has given instructions to strengthen security measures at the Israeli embassies around the world following its airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, the Israeli news portal Ynet reported.
The US informed Iran that it "had no involvement" or prior knowledge of the Israeli strike on April 1 on the Iranian consulate.
Speaking with Axios, a National Security Council spokesperson said that the US "had no involvement in the [Israeli] strike and we did not know about it ahead of time."
Security Council to convene over Israeli attack on Iranian consulate
The Iranian Foreign Minister announced early Tuesday that a Swiss embassy official, who represents Washington's interests in the absence of the US embassy in Iran, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry over the Israeli aggression that targeted the country's consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday.
"Against the backdrop of the terrorist attack by the Israeli regime on the diplomatic building of the consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus and the death of a number of our country’s military advisers, tonight at 00:45, an official of the Swiss embassy, as a defender of US interests in Iran, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on X.
Through the Swiss embassy official, "an important message was sent to the US government as a supporter of the Israeli regime," the top diplomat mentioned, stressing that "the US must be held accountable."
In a related context, the Iranian Mission to the United Nations affirmed on Monday that Iran has the right to take action as a response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
"The aggressor Zionist regime bears full responsibility for its consequences and the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right under international law and the United Nations Charter to take a decisive response to such reprehensible acts," the statement said.
It also asked to convene a UN Security Council meeting, describing the Israeli attack on the consulate as "a huge violation of international law."
Later, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, confirmed on Telegram that a Security Council meeting to discuss the Israeli attack will be held on Tuesday at Russia’s request.
