2024-04-02 02:10:55
International
Entered 2024.04.02 11:10 Modified 2024.04.02 11:13
Attack on consulate building in Damascus, Syrian capital
Seven Iranian soldiers killed, including special forces Quds commander
Iran: “We have the right to respond to bombings… method to be decided later”
International oil prices hit highest in 5 months due to possibility of war escalation
Paramedics and security personnel gather at the site of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, which was attacked by Israel on the 1st (local time). The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that seven members, including special forces Quds commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi, were killed in this attack. /AFP Israel carried out an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria, killing seven people, including a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Concerns regarding an escalation of war are growing as Iran threatens to retaliate following attacks on diplomatic facilities it considers its own territory.
According to Reuters and the New York Times (NYT), two F-35 fighter jets belonging to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the consulate building within the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, the capital of Syria, on the 1st (local time). The IRCG said that the attack killed seven people, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, commander of the Quds Force, the organization’s special forces unit. This is the first time that Israel has directly attacked a foreign embassy. Zahedi is a person who has exercised Iranian influence by commanding Quds in Syria and Lebanon. According to the IRCG, Zahedi planned to hold secret meetings with Iranian intelligence and Palestinian militants regarding the Israeli-Palestinian war.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Khanani warned of retaliation, saying, “Iran reserves the right to respond to the consulate bombing.” He said, “We will decide how to respond and punish the invaders later.” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “This is neither a consulate nor an embassy. It is just a Quds Force military building disguised as a civilian building.”
This attack raises the prospect that the Gaza Strip conflict might escalate into a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran. “Israel and Iran have always been waging a shadow war, but it is no longer a shadow war,” said Ali Baez, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. As the possibility of an escalation of war was raised on this day, international oil prices hit their highest level in five months. As of 11 am on the 2nd, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil (WTI) was trading at $83.95 per barrel, up 0.29% from the previous day, and Brent crude oil was trading at $87.71, up 0.33%.
Reporter Kim In-yeop inside@hankyung.com
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