China, Pakistan, Indonesia condemn Israeli attack on Iranian consulate in Syria

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Islamuddin Sajid

ISTANBUL​​​​​​​/ISLAMABAD (AA) – The Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria which killed seven officers has triggered widespread backlash with several Asian nations condemning Tel Aviv’s extra-territorial actions.

China “condemns the attack on the Iranian embassy complex in Syria and opposes any actions that may escalate tensions,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

“The security of diplomatic institutions is inviolable and Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected,” Wang told reporters in Beijing.

A top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and six other officers were killed in an Israeli missile strike targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday.

The missile strike reportedly targeted a building that served as the Iranian Embassy's consular affairs department as well as the residence of the Iranian ambassador.

Iran’s Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari and his family were unhurt.

- Israeli attack ‘direct violation’ of international law, UN Charter

Indonesia also joined China and other nations, including Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, to “strongly” condemn the Israeli attack against the Iranian diplomatic premise and facilities in Damascus.

“This attack is a direct violation of international law and the UN Charter,” said the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.

“It is yet another dangerous action by Israel that will further escalate conflict in the region and diminish the prospect of a lasting peace,” said the ministry.

- ‘Attack unacceptable, undermines its stability, security’

Strongly condemning the attack on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus, Pakistan said it was “an unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Syria and undermines its stability and security.”

“It is a violation of international law and the UN Charter. Attacks against diplomats or diplomatic facilities are also illegal under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement from Islamabad.

“The irresponsible act of the Israeli forces is a major escalation in an already volatile region,” said the ministry, urging the UN Security Council to “prevent Israel from its adventurism in the region and its illegal acts attacking its neighbors and targeting foreign diplomatic facilities.”

In the aftermath of the attack, Tel Aviv has alerted Israeli embassies worldwide, while Moscow has summoned a UN Security Council meeting over the Israeli strike on Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria's capital Damascus.