New Delhi: India on Thursday expressed “concern” at the Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria that killed senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and sparked apprehension of a widening of the ongoing Gaza war.
“We have noted with concern the attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria on 1 April 2024. India is distressed at the escalating tensions in West Asia, and their potential to fuel further violence and instability,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at the weekly media briefing on Thursday.
He added that India urged “all parties to avoid actions that go against commonly accepted principles and norms of International Law”.
India’s statement, however, did not blame Israel explicitly for the attack.
Incidentally, Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval met with Iran’s secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Akbar Ahmadian on the sidelines of a SCO Security Conclave on Tuesday.
As per a readout issued by Iran’s embassy in India, the two sides “agreed that attacking diplomatic places should be costly for criminals”.
On Monday, at least 12 people, including two Iranian generals, were killed on an airstrike at Iran’s consulate in Damascus, which is widely attributed to Israel.
The Iranian embassy also claimed that “Doval, for his part, expressed condolences over the martyrdom of Iranian advisors in an Israeli strike on the building of Iran’s consulate in Damascus on Monday”.
As per reports, the highest ranking Iranian to be killed in the airstrike was IRGC Al-Quds Force’s General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was also an Iranian military adviser in Syria.
Iran’s deputy envoy to the UN, Zahra Ershadi announced at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that while Tehran had exercised “considerable restraint, Israel had to be fear “full responsibility” for the consequences of the attack.
Ershadi also stated that Iran reserved the right under international law and the UN Charter to “to take decisive response to such reprehensible acts”.
Earlier, Iranian state media quoted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying that Iran “make them regretful about the crime and similar acts”.
The airstrike in Damascus has not been officially claimed by Israel, but anonymous Israeli officials cited in media reports have confirmed Tel Aviv’s involvement.
Following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, which prompted Israel’s devastating military action in Gaza resulting in thousands of civilian casualties, concerns have arisen about the potential escalation of the conflict, drawing in other nations and erupting into a regional war.
In 2020, an American drone targeted and killed the commander of IRGC’s al-Quds wing, Major General Qassim Suleimani. Iran retaliated by attacking two US bases in Iraq with missiles.
This time, the United States had told Iran that Washington was not involved in the airstrike.
Following the Damascus airstrike, Israeli and US officials have said that they have detected and intercepted several drone attacks.
Anticipating strong retaliation from Iran, Israel called up its reserve troops and cancelled all leaves to boost its military air defence wings.
As per media reports, Israeli military has also intensified GPS jamming across its major cities, as a measure against guided missiles, which has also hit daily life.
