DAMASCUS — The Iranian Foreign Minister accused the United States on Monday of having approved the bombing attributed to Israel against his consulate in the capital of Syria last week, during a trip to Damascus to inaugurate a new diplomatic headquarters.
The April 1 bombing killed 16 people, including seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, and left the building, located next to the embassy, destroyed.
Iran, who supports the Syrian regime, promised to avenge the attack which stoked regional tensions, greatly exacerbated by the war in Gaza.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Hosein Amir-Abdollahian, arrived in Damascus this Monday to inaugurate a new headquarters for the consular section and took advantage of his visit to meet with the Syrian president, Bashar al Assad.
Pentagon denies accusations
Both Iran and Syria blame Israel for the bombing, but Israeli authorities have made no comment.
Amir-Abdollahian told reporters on Monday that “the United States is responsible for this incident and must be held accountable.”
“The fact that the United States and two European countries opposed a resolution (in the UN Security Council) to condemn the attack on the Iranian embassy is an indication that the United States gave the green light to the Zionist regime (Israel). )” to launch the attack, he accused.
The Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, denied that Washington was related to the attack, when asked about the Iranian foreign minister’s statements.
“I can strongly refute that claim and say that the US military was not involved in the attack that took place in Damascus,” Singh told reporters.
Threats
On Sunday, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that no Israeli embassies were “safe” following the attack on Damascus.
The head of Iranian diplomacy arrived in Damascus from the Sultanate of Oman, a country that plays a mediator role between Iran and the West.
His Omani counterpart, Badr Al Busaidi, called on Sunday for de-escalation in the region.
Source: With information from AFP
