Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is travelling to Damascus today, a week after Iran’s consulate there was targeted in a suspected Israeli attack.
During a meeting with Houthi spokesperson and senior official Mohammed Abdelsalam, Amirabdollahian hailed “the brave support of the Yemeni nation for the oppressed Palestinian nation”.
The foreign minister has said that Tehran “will use its recognised rights within the framework of international law to hold the criminal aggressors accountable and punish them”.
Israel’s embassy strike marks “a new page of this regime’s warmongering and its efforts to expand the war in the region,” he added.
The strike on the Israeli consulate in Damascus left at least 11 people dead and among them is Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Zahedi is the highest-ranking Iranian military official to be killed since the January 2020 assassination of General Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad carried out by the Israeli government.
Zahedi was a senior commander in al-Quds force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) clandestine foreign intelligence and paramilitary wing. He is said to command units in Lebanon and Syria and is key to Tehran’s relationship with Hezbollah.
The comment comes in the midst of strong Iranian reaction to the Israeli strike.
Yahya Rahim Safavi, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned Israel yesterday that its embassies are “no longer safe” after the strike.
The fighting in Yemen between rebels and the government backed Saudi-led coalition has largely remained on hold since a United Nations-brokered cease-fire in April 2022.
Meanwhile, Israel has said that it is ready to handle any scenario that may arise with Iran.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s office issued the statement about Israel’s preparedness after he held an “operational situation assessment” with senior military officers.
“Upon completing the assessment, Minister Gallant emphasised that the defence establishment has completed preparations for responses in the event of any scenario that may develop vis-à-vis Iran,” his office said.
With inputs from Reuters
