Tehran/Damascus/Washington: Iran accused Israel of killing its four military advisors and several other personnel of the local forces in a today morning attack on a residential district of Mazzeh in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
In Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s “aggressive raid” on Damascus and stated that Tehran reserves the right to act in kind over its advisors’ assassination.
“…undoubtedly the blood of these valued martyrs will not be wasted and the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to respond in kind to Israel’s organized terrorism at the right time and place in addition to pursuing these aggressive and criminal acts through political, legal and international channels.,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in Tehran.
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Besides this attack, at least 15 missiles were fired by militants from inside Iraq on the Ain al-Asad air base used by US-led coalition forces in Western Iraq. Media reports while 13 missiles were shot down, two fell on the airbase, injuring at least one United States personnel stationed there.
There were more fireworks this morning when the US forces conducted three successful self-defence strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. This was the fourth preemptive action that the US military took in the past week against Houthi missile launchers that the US claimed, were ready to launch attacks — “in this case, anti-ship missiles”.
As the Middle East crisis flares up, US President Joe Biden talked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reviewed the situation in Gaza and the shift to targeted operations that will enable the flow of increasing amounts of humanitarian assistance while keeping the military pressure on Hamas and its leaders significant. Both also discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages that are being held by Hamas.
Following their talks, the US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told media persons that Biden “still believes in the promise and the possibility of a two-state solution”, when asked specifically whether the US President thought this was possible with Netanyahu in office. “He [Biden] recognizes that’s going to take a lot of hard work. It’s going to take a lot of leadership there in the region, particularly, on both sides of the issue,” Kirby said. He added that the United States stands firmly committed to eventually seeing that outcome.
“Right now obviously, we’re talking to them actively about post-conflict Gaza and what governance there needs to look like and the importance of an independent Palestinian state for long-term security, not just for the Palestinian people but for the Israeli people as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Kanaani said in Tehran that the repeated violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and the escalation of aggressive and provocative attacks on various targets in the country showed the “helplessness of Tel Aviv on the battlefield against resistance forces in Gaza and the West Bank in more than the past hundred days and a desperate attempt by the Israeli regime to spread instability and insecurity across the region”.
Iran stressed that governments and regional and international organizations, including the United Nations Security Council should give a “clear response to the aggressive, terrorist and criminal acts of the Zionist regime and condemn them decisively”.
It emphasised that the military advisors of the Islamic Republic of Iran who are in Syria at the official invitation of the Syrian government have been playing an important role in helping the government, army and people of Syria in their fight against terrorism and in helping restore peace, stability and lasting security in the country in the past years.
Kanaani underscored that the assassination of the Iranian military advisors by the Zionist regime “clearly shows the deep and organized link between this terrorist regime and different terror and Daesh-style groups in the region”.
– global bihari bureau
