https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2024/04/05/israeli-dangerous-motives-to-widen-the-war/
Israeli dangerous-motives to widen the war
The Syrian Defense Ministry has confirmed that Israeli aircraft targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus’ western Mezzeh district, originating from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights around 17:00 local time on Monday.
Despite Syrian air defenses intercepting some missiles, others penetrated through, resulting in the complete destruction of the building and casualties among its occupants, as stated by the ministry. Efforts are ongoing to retrieve bodies and aid the wounded trapped under the debris, although specific casualty figures have not been disclosed.
Images and videos from the site depict smoke and debris emanating from the collapsed structure, while the nearby Iranian embassy seems to have escaped significant damage.
Iran’s ambassador, Hossein Akbari, denounced the attack, citing casualties among embassy staff and military attaches. He confirmed between five to seven fatalities, including diplomats. Subsequently, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced the loss of seven officers, including Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brig-Gen Mohammad Hadi Haji-Rahimi, both noted as senior military advisors.
Reports from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggest a higher death toll, including a senior Quds Force leader, two Iranian advisors, and five Revolutionary Guards members.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad condemned the strike as a “heinous terrorist attack,” mourning the loss of innocent lives. In a conversation with Mekdad, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticized the assault as a breach of international obligations, attributing responsibility to the Zionist regime.
The incident underscores heightened tensions in the region and the enduring complexities of the Syrian conflict intertwined with broader geopolitical rivalries.
Iran has vowed revenge after Israeli war planes destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least 11 people, including a senior officials. Iran’s leaders in Tehran described the targeting of a diplomatic mission late on Monday as unprecedented and promised a harsh response. Iran said that several long-serving diplomats were killed alongside Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Zahedi’s deputy, Gen Haji Rahimi. It was also reported that Brig Gen Hossein Amirollah, was among the victims. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people were killed in the attack.
“Benjamin Netanyahu has completely lost his mental balance due to the successive failures in Gaza and his failure to achieve his Zionist goals.” Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said Iran’s response to the strike would be “at the same magnitude and harshness”. He said the consulate in the Syrian capital had been hit by six missiles launched by F-35 jets. Bodies were still being identified in the rubble, he said.
Akbari, who had been working at the nearby embassy, vowed Iran would continue to support Palestinians in Gaza, and had no fear of the Israeli government. But the attack represents a test for Iran, which will feel the need to respond while it remains keen to avoid dragging itself into an open all-out conflict with Israel. Israel has mounted successive strikes on Iranian and Syrian military leaders in Lebanon and Syria since before the latest conflict in Gaza, but this was one of the most audacious.
Syria’s foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, visited the scene of Monday’s attack and vowed that Israeli forces will not be able to damage relations between Iran and Syria. The strike follows a marked increase in violence between Israel and Hezbollah on the Israeli-Lebanon boundary since Hamas’s 7 October attack, as well as the resumption of violent attacks by Iranian-backed militia on US and Israeli positions in Iraq. Last Friday, Israeli strikes in Syria killed 53 people, including 38 soldiers and seven members of Hezbollah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. It was the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the monitor said.
Some saw the strike as a response to a drone, apparently launched from Iraq, which struck a building in a naval base in Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat early on Monday morning. But Zahedi would have been on Israel’s assassination list for some time. Israel as a rule does not comment on its assassination strikes, but Iranian media made no attempt to hide the loss of such a senior figure. Last year, Israel killed Sayed Reza Musawi, the IGRC head of logistics in the Levant.
The US said it was aware of the reports of the attacks on the Iranian diplomatic mission but had no comment to make. The UN said it was very worried by the reports but would comment fully later.
The longer-term significance of the incident may lie in Iran regarding the airstrike as an attack on Iranian soil, which would represent an escalation. Tehran is likely to be closely monitoring the US response and for any signs President Joe Biden approved of the attack – or if he was simply notified when it began. The US has classified the al-Quds force as a terrorist force, but US diplomats have been working hard to avoid the Gaza war escalating into a wider conflict directly between Iran and Israel.
It seems, Israel has evil designs of widening the Middle-East conflict and trying to involve Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and some other nations in the region. It is also obvious that the US is backing Israel in implementation of such ill-motives. The recent supply of lethal Weapons to Israel is unnecessary, irrational and blind support may lead such disasters. The Israeli military might is posing a global threat to peace and stability. Even, the Israel has become so strong that it denies to implement the decisions of UNSC and ICJ.
The scenario ahead is scaring, as Israel is leading toward Third World War (WWIII). The availability of lethal weapons and weapons of mass destruction, can erase the huge population of the world and magnitude of disaster can be imagined. All peace-loving nations, organizations, and individuals, must react to Israeli aggressions and over ambitiousness.