Middle East
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers Eid prayer sermon in Tehran on April 10, 2024. Photo: Khamenei's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday vowed that Israel will be punished for its attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, saying that the strike was an attack on Iranian territory.
Airstrikes, attributed to Israel, hit the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus last week, killing at least seven people, including two generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
While delivering the Eid prayer sermon, Khamenei condemned the Israeli regime for intensifying its attack on civilians in the Gaza Strip during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and criticized Western powers for failing to stop the war. He reiterated that Israel will be punished for the attack on the embassy.
“The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and will be punished… The consulate and embassy facilities in any country that exists is considered to be the territory of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means our territory has been attacked,” said Iran’s Supreme Leader.
The Israeli Defense Forces late on Wednesday announced that they had struck a military infrastructure in Syria, allegedly belonging to the Hezbollah. The Israeli military also announced striking several Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon around the same time.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syria over the years, but has intensified its attacks on the war-torn country since October 7, carrying out at least 34 times since the start of the year, which have resulted in killing at least 141 people and wounding over 60 others, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“For many years, Western governments have always helped and supported the Zionist regime and supported this regime in international circles and provided all kinds of aid to this regime… Some spoke words in support of the people, but in practice they not only did not hinder but also helped,” Khamenei added.
Over 33,000 people, including more than 12,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of Israel’s brutal campaign in the strip in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack. The Palestinian group killed some 1,200 people and took around 200 others hostage in the attack.
The UN Security Council in late March passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire of the Israeli offensive on Gaza for the rest of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, but the Israeli regime refused to comply.
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