Iran Inaugurates New Consulate in Damascus

Iran's foreign minister inaugurated the country's new consulate in Damascus, a week after a deadly strike blamed on Israel destroyed the former premises, sending regional tensions skyrocketing.

The new consulate was not far from the premises destroyed by the strike in the upscale Mazzeh area, which also houses other foreign embassies and UN offices.

Tehran, a key Damascus ally, has vowed to avenge last Monday's air strike on the Iranian embassy's consular section that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two generals.

The strike came against the backdrop of Israel and Hamas ongoing war, which began with the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

Damascus and Tehran blame Israel for last Monday's raid, but it has not commented.

Iran's foreign minister began a regional tour in Oman, long a mediator between Tehran and the West, where Muscat's foreign minister called for de-escalation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian inaugurated the new consular section in a Damascus building in the presence of his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, whom he also met.

"I want to announce loud and clear from Damascus that America is responsible for this incident and that it must be held accountable," said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iranian Foreign Minister.

"The fact that the US and two European countries opposed a (UN Security Council) resolution condemning the attack on the Iranian embassy is a sign that the US gave the green light to the Zionist regime," he added.

Amir-Abdollahian also met President Bashar al-Assad, and Syria's pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said his talks in Damascus would be "mainly focused" on repercussions of last week's strike.

Analysts saw the raid as an escalation of Israel's campaign against Iran and its regional proxies.