Seven Iranian military advisors were among those killed in an airstrike by Israel on a Syrian air base on Sunday.
The bodies of the Iranians were flown back to Iran and funerals were planned for later on Tuesday, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Russia and Syria said Monday that Israeli warplanes struck an air base in Homs and that the Syrian air defense systems shot down five of the eight missiles fired. Interfax news agency cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that two Israeli F-15 warplanes carried out the strikes from Lebanese air space on the T-4 air base on Sunday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi described the attack as “a blatant violation of international law which would strengthen terrorists.”
"The Israeli regime's aggression against Syria is a breach of the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity and counter to all international laws and principles," he said on Monday.
Such lawlessness will further complicate the critical situation in Syria, he added. The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that while the Syrian government has the upper hand at the battlefronts, the occupying power carried out the airstrike to strengthen terrorist groups and distract public opinion from the ongoing deadly Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip where over 30 Palestinians have been killed in recent days.
"The Islamic Republic again reiterates its full support for Syria's territorial integrity and national sovereignty as well as its people," Qassemi was quoted as saying.
Tehran’s strongest reaction to the strike and killing of Iranian military advisors, however, came from Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign policy advisor to the Leader of Islamic Revolution.
Speaking upon arrival in Damascus on Tuesday, he warned, “This crime will definitely not go unanswered,” al-Mayadeen TV channel reported.
Iran’s military advisors have been helping the government in Syria fight the foreign-backed rebels and terrorists. They were instrumental in putting an end to the militancy spearheaded by terrorist groups like the self-styled Islamic State.
