Tehran: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday reiterated that Israel must be "punished and it shall be" for attacking the Iranian embassy in Syria. Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's consulate in Damascus on April 1, killing 12 including seven Iranian military advisers, although Israel has not taken responsibility for the attack.
"When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil. The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be," said Khamenei in a speech marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. His remarks came as the US is on high alert in preparation for a possible retaliatory attack after the suspected Israeli strike flared tensions in the region.
The suspected Israeli attack in Damascus on Monday killed Iranian military commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and 11 others, marking the most high-profile killing since a US strike killed Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Zahedi was a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm. Four Syrians and a Hezbollah eme
Iranian leaders have promised to hit back at Israel, with President Ebraham Raisi saying that the attack “will not remain without answer.” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will continue to fail on the battlefield in Gaza, and its defeats will bring it closer to collapse. “Desperate efforts like the act they committed in Syria will not save them from defeat and they will be slapped for the action, too,” Khamenei added.
Israel threatens to directly strike Iran in case of attack
Meanwhile, Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz warned that his country would strike Iran directly if the Islamic Republic launched an attack from its territory against Israel. “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran,” Israel Katz said in a post on X in both Farsi and Hebrew.
Israel has not acknowledged its involvement, though it has been bracing for an Iranian response to the attack, a significant escalation in their long-running shadow war. Iran supports anti-Israeli militant groups like Hamas in Palestinian territories and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It does not recognise Israel.
Recently, Mohammed Jamshidi, the Iranian president's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, said that Iran has "warned the US to not get dragged in Netanyahu's trip", referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Stay away so you won't get hurt. In response US asked Iran not to target American facilities," he added.
Khamenei slams Western support to Israel
Last week, thousands joined a funeral procession in Tehran for the seven slain Guard members, chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America.” Marchers held up banners with the photos of those killed in the attack. Other banners read: “We will make the wicked Zionist regime regret this crime, with the power of God.”
The Biden administration in the US insists it had no advance knowledge of the airstrike on the Iranian consulate on Monday, but Washington is closely tied to Israel's military regardless. The US remains Israel's indispensable ally and unstinting supplier of weapons, responsible for some 70 per cent of Israeli weapon imports and an estimated 15 per cent of Israel's defence budget.
On top of that, the United States, Britain and France opposed a Russian-drafted UN Security Council statement that would have condemned an attack on Iran's embassy compound in Syria. The three countries said many of the facts of what happened on Monday in Damascus remained unclear, while Israel is yet to claim responsibility for the attack.
Khamenei criticised the West on Wednesday, particularly the US and Britain, for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. “It was expected they (would) prevent (Israel) in this disaster. They did not. They did not fulfil their duties, the Western governments,” he said.
(with inputs from agencies)
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