DUBAI, April 3. /TASS/. Israel is doing its best to divert public attention away from the Gaza Strip as sympathy for the suffering of Palestinians is peaking around the world, Abolfazl Fateh, Iranian journalist and communications expert, opined in a feature for the Etemad newspaper, commenting on Israel’s air strikes on the Iranian embassy’s consular department in Syria.
"Amid the global community’s unprecedented sympathy for the suffering of Palestinians, standing up against genocide, Israel is trying to shift [public] attention to another subject by prodding the escalation of the conflict," he said.
Fateh said such moves seek "a respite for the unmotivated, misguided and aimless [Israeli] army" which is conducting a military operation in the Palestinian enclave. However, according to the expert, it cannot be ruled out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultimate goal is to trigger a "direct confrontation between the United States and Iran" and consequently to lay all the costs of war on Washington’s shoulders.
Therefore, in Fateh’s opinion, "it is necessary to remain vigilant regarding Israel’s new ploys" and take preventive measures "in regard to Israel’s terrorist policy."
On April 1, the Syrian news agency SANA reported that Israel’s Air Force had conducted a strike on a building in Damascus. Iranian media outlets said that Iran’s consulate was the target of that attack. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that the strike had killed seven military advisors, including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and General Mohammad Hadi Haji-Rahimi. According to Iran’s government-run IRIB TV channel, Zahedi commanded the IRGC’s Al-Quds Force units in Lebanon and Syria.
Russia strongly condemned Israel’s strike on the consulate and requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that Tehran would make Israel regret its strike and President Ebrahim Raisi pledged that the attack would not go without response. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Israel had hit a military target belonging to the IRGC, but not a diplomatic mission. According to Hagari, the facility was disguised as a civilian building.