EU condemns attack on Damascus mission that killed top Iranian generals
European Commission spokesperson says diplomatic buildings must be protected after alleged Israeli strike on Iran consular building in Syria, urges restraint
The European Union on Wednesday condemned an airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven people and called on countries in the region to show restraint.
Iran blamed Israel for the attack, which killed two of its generals and five military advisers at its embassy compound in Damascus. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike, one of the most significant yet on Iranian interests in Syria.
“In this highly tense regional situation, it is imperative to show utmost restraint,” Peter Stano, a spokesperson for the executive European Commission, said in a post on X.
“The principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases and in all circumstances in accordance with international law.”
Iran has avoided direct conflict with Israel during the half-year war against Hamas in Gaza while supporting its allies’ attacks on Israeli and US targets.
However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed revenge for Monday’s airstrike, which destroyed a consular building adjacent to the main embassy complex in the upscale Mezzeh district of the Syrian capital.
The war began on October 7 with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253.
Iran’s allies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, have attacked Israeli and US targets since the beginning of the war with Hezbollah regularly shooting rockets at Israel and the Houthis shooting missiles toward Eilat and attacking ships in the Red Sea.
In response, Israel has struck many Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and the US and UK, along with other countries, have struck Houthi targets in Yemen.
