Iran’s Khamenei says Israel ‘must be punished’ for Syrian embassy attack

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Israel’s attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria “must and should be punished.”

On April 1, Israel’s war with regional rivals escalated significantly when suspected Israeli warplanes bombed the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital. Iran said the attack killed seven military advisers.

“When they attacked the consulate, it was as if they attacked our land,” Khamenei said in a speech marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. He added: “The evil regime made mistakes and must be punished and should be punished. .”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel would respond if Iran attacks Israel from its own soil, in an apparent response to Khamenei.

“If Iran launches an attack from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran,” Katz said in a post on the social media platform X.

Iran has backed groups that have entered the conflict in the region since Israel launched its invasion of Gaza on October 7 following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel.

Some 33,360 Palestinians killed in six months Israel bombs Gaza, Hamas attack on October 7 According to Israeli statistics, 1,200 people were killed in Israeli attacks.

The Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group engages in daily fighting with Israel, while the Iraqi group fires on U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq and Yemen’s Houthi rebels target shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.