Death toll in Israeli attack on Iranian consulate rises to 13

(Patria) - 13 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, including seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Tehran announced today.

"In the attack carried out by the Zionist regime on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, seven Iranians and six Syrians were killed," Iranian state television reported, as reported by RSE.

The initial information was that six people were killed, and then that number rose to 11.

The building housing the Iranian consulate and the Iranian ambassador's residence was destroyed in the attack.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned Israel that it would be punished for the attack, while Tehran also announced that it had sent an important diplomatic message to the US.

Iran will reserve the right to take reciprocal action against the Israeli attack on the consulate in Damascus, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Naser Kanani today.

- Tehran will decide on the nature of the response and the punishment of the aggressor - Kanani emphasized, Reuters reported.

Syrian and Iranian media reported that the building of the Iranian consulate in Damascus was completely destroyed in an Israeli air attack.

A Lebanese security source said that among the dead was a high-ranking officer of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Zahedi.

The Israeli army declined to comment on foreign media reports.

Since the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria against the Lebanese organization Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.