KUWAIT CITY, April 2, (Agencies): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed Kuwait’s strong condemnation of the Israeli occupation’s airstrike, which targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, causing many casualties and injuries. In a statement, the ministry said that such attack is considered a clear violation of international law, which supposedly protects diplomatic missions around the world from such a blatant attack.

The ministry calls on the international community to bear responsibility and exerts efforts to protect the stability and safety in the region. Earlier, several casualties and injuries occurred because of an Israeli missile attack that targeted the Iranian consulate building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus. Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Al-Budaiwi condemned and denounced Monday the targeting of Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus. In a statement, the GCC chief underlined the importance of abiding by international law and treaties, including the protection and safety of diplomatic missions. Iran and one of its key proxies vowed Tuesday to respond to a strike widely attributed to Israel that demolished Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus and killed eight people, including two Iranian generals. Iran’s state TV reported Tuesday that the country’s Supreme National Security Council, a key decision-making body, met late Monday and decided on a “required” response to the strike.

The report said the meeting was chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi, but provided no further details. Israel has repeatedly targeted military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza, and along its border with Lebanon. Monday’s strike in Damascus signaled an escalation because it struck an Iranian diplomatic mission. It was not clear if Iran would respond itself, risking a dangerous confrontation with Israel and its ally the United States, or if it would continue to rely on proxies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The airstrike in Syria killed Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It also killed Zahedi’s deputy, Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers. Hezbollah said Tuesday that Zahedi played a crucial role in helping “develop and advance the work” of the group in Lebanon. A Hezbollah member was also killed in Monday’s strike, bringing the overall death toll to eight. Hezbollah announced the death of Hussein Youssef on Tuesday, but did not provide further details. “This crime will certainly not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge,” Hezbollah said in a statement. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza nearly six months ago, those proxies have stepped up attacks, leading to near daily cross-border exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel, and frequent Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping. Hamas, which rules Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7, is also backed by Iran. Israel, which rarely acknowledges strikes against Iranian targets, said it had no comment on the latest attack in Syria, although a military spokesman blamed Iran for a drone attack early Monday against a naval base in southern Israel.