Iranian Guard commander killed in Israeli attack on Syrian consulate: report

Israeli warplanes attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday, and Lebanese security sources told Reuters that top Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi was killed in the attack.

A Reuters reporter saw thick smoke rising from the ruins of a flattened building in the Meze district of the Syrian capital, with emergency vehicles parked outside.

An Israeli military spokesman said: “We do not comment on foreign media reports.”

Syrian state television confirmed the attack on the consulate building. Earlier, Iranian media reported that a building near the embassy was attacked, and the Iranian Student News Agency reported that the targets were the consulate and the ambassador’s residence.

Since the October 7 attack on Israel by the Iranian-backed Palestinian faction Hamas, Israel has stepped up airstrikes in Syria against the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), both of which support the Palestinian Authority. President’s administration. Assad.