Syrian rebels stormed the Iranian consulate in Aleppo following their swift seize of Syria’s second largest metropolis, Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday, after movies on social media confirmed armed fighters contained in the constructing.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, issued a press release strongly condemning the intrusion on the consulate, emphasizing that “any violation of diplomatic premises by any particular person, group, or authorities is unacceptable underneath the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.”
He stated the Consul General and all members of the Iranian consulate in Aleppo are protected and unhurt.
Shortly after the rebels stormed the Iranian consulate, Iran’s overseas ministry introduced that Abbas Araghchi, the nation’s high diplomat, will probably be visiting Damascus on Sunday and Ankara on Monday.
Turkey is called a key supporter of Syrian rebels who’ve captured Aleppo over the previous few days, and had given a inexperienced gentle to the offensive, opposition sources in contact with Turkish intelligence instructed Reuters.
Araghchi additionally had a cellphone name together with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, throughout which they expressed their “decisive assist for Syria’s nationwide sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the nation’s authorities and armed forces” in countering the armed rebels, in keeping with Tehran’s readout of the decision.
The seize of Aleppo by Syrian opposition forces, together with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has considerably impacted Iranian-backed troops and raised issues about Tehran’s long-term regional technique.
Iranian officers have downplayed Aleppo’s fall to anti-Assad forces, framing the loss as a minor setback whereas doubling down on their assist for Bashar al-Assad.
However, Kayhan newspaper which is near Ali Khamenei’s workplace urged on Saturday that a number of Iranian forces have been killed over the previous days in Aleppo.
“In the previous couple of days, throughout the battle in Syria and Aleppo, a number of Iranians have been martyred. Therefore, the first and supreme goal of this new battle is Iran,” Kayhan wrote in its article.
Tehran has not but confirmed the loss of life of any Iranians in Aleppo, besides Kioumars Pourhashemi, a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) who was killed in Aleppo throughout an assault by Islamist forces against the Syrian authorities.
The fall of Aleppo comes after years of Iranian assist for Assad’s navy, together with monetary assist, weapons, and personnel from the IRGC and allied militias similar to Hezbollah. These forces have propped up the Syrian regime in its efforts to reclaim territory for the reason that civil battle started in 2011. However, the most recent insurgent offensive has demonstrated the bounds of Tehran’s capabilities which have weakened in latest months due to relentless Israel assaults towards Hezbollah.
