Iran Asks US To Step Aside As It Prepares To Respond To Israeli Strike

Iran has asked the US to “step aside” as it prepares to respond to a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria.

In a message on X, previously known as Twitter, Iran “warned the US not to get dragged into Netanyahu’s trap,” Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs wrote.

He added that the US should “step aside so that” it does not get hit.

“In response, the US asked Iran not to hit American targets,” Jamshidi added.

The US has not responded yet and according to reports, is on high alert and is preparing for a “significant” response from Iran against Israeli or American targets in the region.

NBC reported that the US government believes that the attack could be targeted at “military or intelligence targets” within Israel.

Bloomberg reported that the US communicated to Iran that it was not aware of the attack which took place in Damascus.

Iran has said that it would deliver a tight “slap” to Israel. Though, it is not clear whether Iran would do it by itself or use its proxies like the Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon was quoted by AFP as saying that “This crime will not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge”, adding that Brig. Gen. Reza Zahedi, who died in the air strike “Was one of the first to support, sacrifice and persevere for many years to advance the work of the resistance (meaning Hezbollah) in Lebanon”.

Among those killed in Monday’s airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus was one of Iran’s top soldiers, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). Iranian Supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a funeral for those killed in the airstrikes.

It was the boldest, and deadliest, in a series of attacks that have killed Iranian officials in Syria since December.