Russian foreign minister calls Israeli strike on Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus 'political killing'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday called the April 1 Israeli strike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus that left at least 13 people dead, including a high-ranking general, a "political killing."

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov condemned the Israeli attack in a phone talk with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

"Any attacks on diplomatic and consular facilities, the inviolability of which is guaranteed by the relevant Vienna Conventions, are categorically unacceptable, as well as political killings," he said.

Seven Iranian military advisers are said to have been killed in the attack, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), whom Tel Aviv accused of taking part in planning the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.

The top diplomats exchanged of views on the state of affairs in the Middle East, and agreed to maintain the "high level of coordination" on regional and global issues.

"The sides stressed the interest of both sides in consistently increasing political and diplomatic, as well as trade and economic cooperation, including in the transport and logistics sector, including transit transportation," the ministry said.