EU condemns strike on Iran in Syria stopping short of mentioning Israel

The European Union condemned on Wednesday (3 April) the attack on an Iranian diplomatic installation in Damascus on 1 April, as well as the reported casualties.

Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran’s consulate in Syria on Monday (1 April) in a strike that Iran said killed seven of its military advisers, including three senior commanders, and that marked a major escalation in Israel’s war with its regional adversaries.

“In this highly tense regional situation, it is imperative to show utmost restraint. Further escalation in the region is in no one’s interest”, says a statement by the spokesperson of the EU diplomatic service.

“The principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases and in all circumstances in accordance with international law”, adds the statement, which makes no mention of Israel.

In New York, EU member France was among those who blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have put the blame on Israel.

The United States, Britain and France on Wednesday opposed a Russian-drafted text UN Security Council statement that would have condemned the attack, which Tehran has blamed on Washington’s ally Israel.

Russia has issued a statement saying “such aggressive actions by Israel are absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped”.

Press statements by the 15-member council have to be agreed by consensus. Diplomats said the US, backed by France and Britain, told council colleagues that many of the facts of what happened on Monday in Damascus remained unclear and there was no consensus among council members during a meeting on Tuesday.

“This serves as a clear illustration of the double standards employed by the Western ‘troika’ and their actual, rather than declarative, approach to legality and order in the international context,” Russia’s deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said in a post on X.

The UN Security Council has issued statements in the past condemning attacks on diplomatic premises.

The US says it has not confirmed the status of the building struck in Damascus, but that it would be concerned if it was a diplomatic facility.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, which destroyed a consular building adjacent to the main embassy complex, killing seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Iran has accused Israel of violating the founding UN Charter, international law, and also cited several conventions.

The 1961 Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations and 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations define premises as buildings, parts of buildings and land – regardless of ownership – used for the purposes of the diplomatic or consular mission, including the head of the diplomatic mission.

Those conventions state that the diplomatic or consular premises “shall be inviolable.” But they also say the premises should “not be used in any manner incompatible” with the diplomatic and consular functions.

Iran also cited the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents – suggesting those killed were covered by these rules.

(With additional reporting by Georgi Gotev)

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