U.S. tells Iran it "had no involvement" in Israel strike
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Debris is cleared away after an Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, Syria, on Monday. Photo: Ammar Ghali/Anadolu via Getty Images
The U.S. told Iran that it "had no involvement" or advance knowledge of an Israeli strike on a diplomatic compound in Syria that killed a senior Iranian general, according to a U.S. official.
The big picture: The rare message shows the Biden administration is deeply concerned that the Israeli strike could lead to a regional escalation and the resumption of attacks by pro-Iranian militias against U.S. forces.
- Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi is the most senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer to be killed since the U.S. assassinated Qassen Soleimani in 2020.
A National Security Council spokesperson told Axios that the U.S. "had no involvement in the [Israeli] strike and we did not know about it ahead of time."
- A senior U.S. official said the U.S. "has communicated this directly to Iran".
Zoom in: Iran has vowed to seek revenge and accused Israel — which flattened a diplomatic building in Damascus with its airstrike — of a "breach of all international conventions."
- Iran hasn't directly intervened in the current conflict and mostly relies on its proxies.
Behind the scenes: Israeli intelligence has been following Zahedi, who was in charge of arming and coordinating with Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militias in Lebanon and Syria, for a long time.
- An operational window to take him out only opened up in recent days, an Israeli official said.
- Israel notified the Biden administration a few minutes before its air force conducted the strike but didn't ask for a U.S. green light, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
- A U.S. official said the Israeli heads-up wasn't detailed and arrived when the military jets were already in the air. The Israelis didn't tell the U.S., for example, that they were planning to bomb a building in the Iranian embassy compound.
Between the lines: The strike took place shortly before White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Blinken started a secure video conference call with top Israeli officials to discuss alternatives to an Israeli ground invasion in Rafah.
- The air strike in Syria did not come up during the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, a U.S. official said.
State of play: In the hours after the strike, several drone attacks were launched from Syria into Israel and were intercepted by IDF air defense systems.
- A U.S. defense official said a one-way attack drone was detected and destroyed by U.S. forces at Al-Tanf Garrison in Syria several hours after the strike in Damascus. No injuries and no damage to infrastructure were reported.
What to watch: A senior U.S. official said it is highly likely that there is going to be an escalation in fighting between Israel and Iran and its proxies.
- A senior Israeli official said the IDF is on high alert for retaliatory strikes from Iranian-allied militias in Syria.
