Hommam Al Nassim 
Arab and foreign countries condemned the bombing of the Iranian consulate by Israeli warplanes in the center of the Syrian capital Damascus, on Monday, killing 7 people, including diplomats.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed “Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the targeting of the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital Damascus,” expressing “the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of targeting diplomatic facilities for any justification, and under any pretext, which is a violation of international diplomatic laws and the rules of diplomatic immunity.”
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “expresses its condemnation of the targeting of the Iranian diplomatic mission in the Syrian capital Damascus,” adding that “this attack represents a clear and flagrant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty and warns of the danger of compromising the security of diplomatic missions that have diplomatic immunity under international laws.”
For its part, Moscow condemned the attack, stressing in a statement that “Israeli aggressive actions are unacceptable and must stop, and we draw particular attention to the fact that the attack was carried out in a densely populated urban area, which led to a high risk of mass casualties among civilians.”
For its part, the United States announced that it had informed Iran that it had no prior knowledge of the Israeli attack, according to the American website “Axios”.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed an appropriate response to the attack, saying, “The Zionist entity must realize that this cowardly crime will not remain unanswered.”
The leader of the revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, said that Israel will receive its punishment from the men of Iran, stressing that Israel will regret the crime of assassinating the commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria in the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Iran requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on the attack launched by Israel on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, where media sources in New York confirmed that the Security Council will hold an urgent session at the request of Russia to discuss the attack on the Iranian consulate.
IRNA reported that Iran’s permanent delegation to the United Nations sent a letter to the rotating president of the Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres following the attack.
In Israel, Israeli embassies around the world have been instructed to strengthen their security measures in the wake of the attack on the Iranian consulate.
The Israel Broadcasting Corporation explained that there is already a state of alert in Israeli embassies since October 7, but after the assassination of Iranian official in Damascus, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the state of alert in those embassies will be raised.
An Israeli attack on Monday targeted the Iranian consulate building in Damascus with 6 missiles, which killed two generals, the commander of the Guards in Syria and Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and his deputy, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, in addition to 5 other officers accompanying them, and civilian injuries and significant damage to property.
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