After Israel's attacks on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Tehran faces a strategic dilemma.

In what appears to be a provocation against Iran, Israel has dealt a crushing blow to the “axis of resistance.” Monday 1^R In April, strikes attributed to Israeli aircraft leveled the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing two al-Quds force commanders and five other members of the branch of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for external operations.

In the center of Mazzeh, the diplomatic district of Damascus, all that remains is a pile of rubble and a building's door. “Consular Section of the Embassy of Iran”. On Monday afternoon, airstrikes completely destroyed the building located in the Iranian embassy compound. A diplomatic mission decorated with a large portrait of Qassem Soleimani, the former head of the al-Quds force who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020, was closed during the thirteenth day of the traditional festival of Nowruz. Celebrating the new year of the Persian calendar.

Condemning attacks on diplomatic missions “Breach of all international obligations and conventions”Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian made the call “International Community” bring it “A serious response” For these “Criminal Proceedings” He is the cause of Israel. His spokesman added that the Islamic Republic will decide what kind of reaction and punishment to carry out against the Jewish state.

“Israel is forcing Iran to the wall by targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which is considered Iranian territory under international law. The rules of engagement of the past are now completely obsolete. “It is no longer an option for Tehran to remain unreactive.”Researcher Hamidreza Azizi at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik research institute in Berlin believes so.

Iran is indeed facing a dilemma. A response could trigger an open confrontation with Israel and a regional conflict. It's a scenario Tehran has sought to avoid since the war in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, 2023, leaving its allies in the “axis of resistance” – Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iraqi militias and Yemen's Houthis. – Attacks only the Jewish state. Palestine in favor of Hamas. But failure to respond could tarnish Tehran's reputation in this axis and reduce its deterrence against Israel to nothing, thereby exposing its personnel to other attacks.

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