2024-04-02 22:01:01
According to the US government, Israel is responsible for the attack on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus. Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh made this clear at a press conference on Tuesday in Washington. Singh was asked whether the US was involved in Monday’s airstrike, to which she referred to Israel.
“The US has not carried out an attack in Damascus. I would like to refer you to the Israelis to talk to them about their attack,” Singh said. When asked whether it was the US government’s official assessment that Israel was responsible for the strike, the spokeswoman answered in the affirmative: “That is our assessment.”
At least 13 people were killed in the air strikes on the embassy grounds on Monday. According to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, these included seven of its members, including two senior representatives of the Al-Quds Brigade, which is responsible for foreign operations. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are Iran’s elite armed forces. They are considered more powerful than the regular army.
Iran strongly condemned the attack and threatened its arch-enemy Israel with retaliation. An Israeli military spokesman said when asked that they do not comment on reports in foreign media.
Singh said the US made it very clear to Iran through confidential channels after the incident that it was not involved in the strike. Israel did not inform the US government in advance about the attack or its target. “We had nothing to do with the attack in Damascus, we were not involved in it in any way,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Kirby described statements by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian that the USA was partly responsible as “nonsense”.
At Russia’s instigation, the UN Security Council in New York also dealt with the strike on Tuesday. Russia, which is allied with the Syrian and Iranian regimes, sharply criticized Israel on this occasion for the attack on the Iranian embassy building in the Syrian capital Damascus. Moscow is “of the opinion that such aggressive actions by Israel are intended to further inflame the conflict,” said Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya. Such actions are “completely unacceptable” and constitute a “flagrant violation” of Syria’s territorial sovereignty.
The majority of Security Council members condemned the attack on the Iranian consular building and emphasized the inviolability of diplomatic institutions – but without explicitly mentioning Israel. UN Secretary General António Guterres also condemned the attack on the Iranian embassy building. The UN chief emphasized the “principle of inviolability” of diplomatic and consular institutions and their personnel, which must always be adhered to in accordance with international law, as the United Nations announced on Tuesday in New York. Guterres also called on everyone involved to exercise the greatest possible restraint.
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