‘Completely unacceptable’ — Russia condemns attack on Iranian consulate in Syria

The government of Russia has condemned the airstrike that hit the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Iran Press said at least six persons were killed in the attack on Monday, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior Iranian revolutionary guards corps (IRGC) commander.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, SANA, Syria’s official news agency, said the strikes were carried out by “the Israeli enemy”.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Russian foreign ministry said such “aggressive” actions by Israel are “absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped”.

“We consider any attacks on diplomatic and consular facilities, the inviolability of which is guaranteed by the relevant Vienna Conventions, to be categorically unacceptable,” the statement reads.

“Russia strongly urges the Israeli leadership to abandon the practice of provocative military actions in Syria and other neighboring countries.”

In a post on X, Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), said the security council will hold an open meeting to address the attack.

“After Israel’s airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus today, Iranians have turned to the UN Security Council to condemn this action,” Polyansky wrote.

“Following their letter we have requested an open briefing of the UN Security Council. The Maltese presidency has scheduled it for 3:00 PM New York time (10:00 PM Moscow time) on April 2nd.”

Israel did not confirm the accusations, saying: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media”.