MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a suspected Israeli air strike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus was an act of aggression, and called on Israel to cease such “absolutely unacceptable” actions.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge against Israel for Monday’s attack which Iran said killed seven of its military advisers, including three senior commanders.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was not rushing to conclusions, but “such strikes are a violation of all the foundations of international law and an act of aggression”.
Russia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack.
“We strongly condemn this attack on the Iranian consular mission in Syria,” the foreign ministry said. “Such aggressive actions by Israel are absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped.”
“We urge the Israeli leadership to abandon the practice of provocative military actions on the territory of Syria and other neighboring countries,” it said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement that seven Iranian military advisers died in the strike including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm.
Israel has long targeted Iran’s military installations in Syria and those of its proxies, but Monday’s attack was the first time Israel hit the vast embassy compound itself.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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