Summary

  • A suspected Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus, Syrian state media report

  • Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps says seven of its members have been killed in the strike on the consulate building

  • Senior commander Brig-Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy are among the dead, Iranian IRGC says in a statement

  • The Israeli military says it does not comment on foreign media reports

  • Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks on Iranian-linked targets in Syria in the past few years, but rarely acknowledges the strikes

  • In a separate development, four foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver are said to have been killed by an air strike in Gaza

Live Reporting

Edited by Patrick Jackson

  1. Analysis

    Airstrike could prompt Iranian response through proxies

    Sebastian Usher
    Middle East analyst

    A picture of late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani hangs amid rubble after what Syrian and Iranian media described as an Israeli air strike on Iran's consulate in DamascusReuters

    Videos being shared online show a big explosion in the upmarket district of Mezzeh in Damascus.

    Iranian and Syrian state media are saying that the Iranian consulate was hit and are blaming Israel for the attack.

    There’s been no comment so far from Israel, which is known to have carried out many attacks on Iranian-linked targets in Syria in recent years but has very rarely acknowledged them.

    Such attacks have increased since war erupted between Israel and Hamas, which is backed by Iran. But this appears to be a serious escalation.

    Iran will have to calibrate its response carefully as it strives to continue its conflict with Israel through its regional proxies without descending into all-out war.

  2. Tehran reserves right to reciprocate - Iran foreign ministry

    Iran reserves the right to carry out reciprocal actions against the "aggressors" behind today's attack in Damascus, the country's foreign ministry spokesperson has said.

    Nasser Kanaani says "Tehran will decide on the type of response and punishment against the aggressor", according to Reuters.

    As we've been reporting, both Iran and Syria are accusing Israel of having carried out the attack in the heart of Damascus. Israel has not responded to the accusations, saying it does not comment on foreign media reports.

  3. Smoke rises from the rubble at strike scene

    Smoke rises after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, SyriaReuters

    Smoke can be seen rising from the flattened building

    An Iranian flag hangs as smoke rises after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, SyriaReuters

    An Iranian flag could be seen hanging among the destruction

    Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad walks near a damaged site after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, SyriaReuters

    Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited the scene earlier

  4. Analysis

    This can only be seen as a serious escalation

    Jeremy Bowen
    International Editor, in northern Israel

    I think the Israelis are testing the resolve of the Iranians, and also their allies Hezbollah who have already been fighting a war here in northern Israel and in Lebanon.

    This is a signal from the Israelis that they are serious about increasing the pressure on their enemies and they are looking at the fact that both Iran and Hezbollah have not been pushing as hard as some might expect.

    This is a challenge.

    They are seeing if they are going to push back. There will be a response, but it may not be the response people might be expecting.

    Rather than missiles, it may be some sort of cyber attack – that’s certainly one possibility.

  5. Iran blames Israel for commander's death

    Baran Abbasi
    BBC Persian

    Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi was an important figure in the Quds Force, the overseas branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

    He joined the IRGC 44 years ago and quickly rose to a top rank. He served as the commander of the Syria and Lebanon operation of the IRGC from 2008 to 2016, during which his forces fought in support of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.

    Iranian media have been sharing a picture of him with Imad Mughniyeh, the number two in Hezbollah's leadership who was assassinated in a car bomb in 2008.

    Iran has blamed Israel for Zahedi’s death, in a sign of escalating tensions between the two countries.

    In a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian condemned the strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

    He said Israel had “violated all its international commitments and conventions” and that it would be held responsible for such “criminal actions”.

    Iranian foreign ministry's website quoted Abdollahian saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "completely lost his mental balance" after "repeated defeats in Gaza".

    Hossein Akbari, Iran’s Ambassador to Damascus, said that the attack on the Iranian consulate showed “Israel did not recognize any international laws and was ready take any kind of inhumane action to achieve its goals”.

  6. Where did the strike happen?

    The Iranian embassy and consulate buildings are located in the centre of Damascus.

    Satellite image of the Iranian embassy and consulate buildings with an inset map locating Damascus in Syria and in relation to the Golan Heights

  7. Watch: Emergency workers spray smoking rubble

    Masses of rubble and twisted metal are all that's left of the building in Damascus - here's some of the latest footage we've been getting from the scene:

    Iranian consulate in Damascus destroyed following air strike

  8. White House ‘aware’ of reports Iranian consulate hit

    The White House has confirmed that President Joe Biden is “aware” of Iranian media reports that its consulate in Syria was hit by an airstrike earlier today.

    White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has told reporters that a team was "looking into it”.

    The Israeli military has said it doesn’t comment on foreign media reports.

  9. What do we know so far?

    The situation is developing quickly but this is what we know so far:

    • Syrian state media is reporting that a suspected Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus
    • Pictures show smoke and dust rising from the flattened multi-storey structure located on a highway in the western Mezzeh district
    • One Iranian news agency said five people were killed, while a UK-based monitoring group put the toll at eight
    • A Lebanese security source told Reuters news agency that those killed included a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Reza Zahedi
    • The Israeli military said it didn't comment on foreign media reports
    • The Syrian military said earlier that its air defences had intercepted "hostile targets" in the vicinity of Damascus
    The building destroyed in DamascusReuters

  10. Israeli air strike destroys Iranian consulate in Syria, says state media

    Nadia Ragozhina
    Live reporter

    An Israeli strike has destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Syria's capital, Damascus, killing and wounding several people, Syrian authorities say.

    Iranian state media say several diplomats have been killed in the strike in the west of the city.

    A senior commander in the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, is among the dead according to state media.

    After the strike, the Israeli military said it did not comment on foreign media reports.

    Stay with us as we bring you all the latest on this developing story.