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- 'Will not go unanswered': Iran president says about alleged Israeli strike
'Will not go unanswered': Iran president says about alleged Israeli strike
Following an attack which killed senior Iranian military officials at a diplomatic compound in Damascus, Washington reportedly told Tehran it was neither involved nor had knowledge of the strike
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said an airstrike attributed to Israel on its diplomatic compound in Syria, "will not go unanswered," according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, neither denied nor confirmed the airstrike during an interview with CNN. However, the Israeli official said the building was "disguised" as civilian, but was neither a consulate or embassy.
“According to our intelligence, this is no consulate and this is no embassy,” Hagari told CNN. “I repeat, this is no consulate and this is no embassy. This is a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.”
Following the attack, Washington informed Tehran it "had no involvement" or advanced knowledge of the strike in Damascus, Axios reported citing an American official.
Meanwhile, Iran and Syria accused Israel of being behind the attack. In addition, Tehran said it would hold the U.S. "answerable" due to its support of the Jewish state.
According to Iran's foreign ministry, seven officials were killed in the strike, among them was a top commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammed Reza Zahedi, who headed the Quds Force in the Syria and Lebanon region. Iranian state media later raised the death toll to 13.
According to statements to The New York Times, the strike was aimed at a "secret meeting" taking place between senior Iranian intelligence officials from the Quds Force and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to discuss the war in Gaza.