Hezbollah says targeting of Iranian consulate in Damascus 'will not go unpunished'

BEIRUT

The suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus "will not go unpunished," the Lebanese Hezbollah group vowed on Tuesday.

In a statement, Hezbollah mourned seven military commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who were killed in the airstrike in Damascus, including Gen. Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the IRGC's Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.

"Certainly, this crime will not pass without the enemy [Israel] receiving punishment and revenge," the group said.

Iran has accused Israel of being behind the airstrike on the consulate building next to its embassy.

Iran’s Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari said the building was attacked with F-35 fighter jets that launched six missiles.

The attack is against all international conventions and will be met with a "decisive response," he added.

The attack came amid heightened tensions in the region over Israel’s ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 32,800 Palestinians and spawned a major humanitarian crisis.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara