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.