Iran parl. speaker: Israel to face severe punishment for attack on Damascus mission

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf strongly condemns the deadly Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, warning that the occupying entity will receive “severe punishment” for the terrorist attack.

In a message of condolence issued early on Tuesday, Qalibaf said the naked aggression that saw the cold-blooded killing of a number of “brave and courageous” Iranian military commanders further exposes the viciousness and brutality of the Israeli regime.

It also demonstrates the weakness, helplessness and desperation of the usurping Zionist entity in the face of the resilience and steadfastness of the resistance factions that are operating across the region, added the message.

“The ignorant leaders of the usurping Israeli regime and their advocates had better realize that such vicious acts will not impact the willpower of resistance fighters who are seeking freedom, and their aggressive and malicious moves will be met with severe punishment,” Qalibaf pointed out.

The Monday attack resulted in the martyrdom of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), his deputy, and five of their accompanying officers.

Iran’s Ambassador to Damascus Hossein Akbari confirmed that the attack had resulted in the martyrdom of seven people, but said the exact number of the martyrs was yet to be specified.

Reacting to the atrocity, Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement said Martyr Zahedi’s “pure blood will result in more determination to resist and confront the arrogant Israeli enemy.”

It said the Israeli regime would be “foolish” to believe that such assassinations could “stop the roaring tide of peoples’ resistance, ” noting that the crime will not go unanswered, and the enemy should await “punishment and revenge.”

The Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas also condemned the attack “in the strongest terms.”

It called the attack “a flagrant violation of international law, an encroachment on the sovereignty of both Syria and Iran, and a dangerous Zionist escalation.”

The movement demanded that the United Nations Security Council take “effective” action to stop the regime’s aggression on the region, “which adds fuel to the fire and undermines international stability and security.”