DAMASCUS, Syria -- Iran's foreign minister Monday accused the United States of giving Israel the "greenlight" for a strike on its consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials, including two generals.
Hossein Amirabdollahian reiterated Tehran's vows that it will respond to the attack, widely blamed on Israel, that appeared to signify an escalation of Israel's targeting of military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza, and along its border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an address Monday reiterated the Iran-backed group's support for a Tehran military response to the attack that killed Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior military official in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, and worsened fears of the war spiraling into the rest of the Middle East.
Since the war in Gaza began six months ago, clashes have increased between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Hamas, which rules Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7, is also backed by Iran, as well as an umbrella group of Iraqi militias targeting U.S. military bases and positions in Syria and Iraq.
Though Israel has regularly conducted strikes targeting Iranian military officials and allies, Zahedi's death was the most significant blow for Tehran since a U.S. drone targeted and killed Quds Force chief Gen. Qassim Soleimani in 2020 in Baghdad.
"I'd like to say with a very loud voice from here in Damascus that America has a responsibility in what happened and must be held responsible," Amirabdollahian told reporters in Damascus during a visit where he met his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, who condemned both the strike and Israel's offensive in Gaza. Amirabdollahian also met President Bashar Assad, with whom he discussed Gaza and the wider situation in the region, a statement from Assad's office said.
The Iranian foreign minister, who earlier that day inaugurated the opening of a new consular section in a nearby building, justified his claims by saying that Washington and "two European countries" did not condemn the attack on the diplomatic building.
The Biden administration has insisted that it had no advance knowledge of the airstrike.
Initially after the strikes, Iranian state media said Zahedi led the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016.
Then, in a public address Monday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Zahedi was a key figure for the Lebanese group, and had three four-year stints in the tiny Mediterranean country.
Nasrallah, like Syria, and other key allies of Tehran, have said they remain committed to backing Iran.
"It's a natural right for Iran. It's natural for the Islamic Republic to conduct this response (to the consulate attack)," Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah said Zahedi's first involvement was until 2002, overseeing Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and helping Hezbollah scale up. Zahedi's second term covered some of the fiercest fighting in Syria's uprising turned civil war, where Tehran and Russia played a key role in backing Assad against opposition forces. Zahedi's final stint began in 2020 and ended when he was killed.
Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops have clashed along the tense Lebanon-Israel border since Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas attack on southern Israel.
The Hezbollah leader said that the moment the clashes began, Zahedi reportedly wanted to join Hezbollah militants on the front line but wasn't permitted to do so.
Earlier Monday, Israeli airstrikes over southern Lebanon killed Ali Ahmad Hussein, an elite commander of Hezbollah's secretive Radwan Force. Hezbollah announced Hussein's death, but did not give any details on the circumstances or his role with the group in line with how it makes public the deaths of its members.
In this photo released on the official Telegram page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, welcomes Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian before their meeting in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 8, 2024. Iran's foreign minister Monday accused the United States of giving Israel the "green light" to strike its consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials including two generals. (Syrian Presidency Telegram page via AP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, right, speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian during a joint press conference in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 8, 2024. Iran's foreign minister Monday accused the United States of giving Israel the "green light" to strike its consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials including two generals. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, right, leaves after the opening of the new Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 8, 2024. Iran's foreign minister Monday accused the United States of giving Israel the "green light" to strike the consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials including two generals. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks in a televised address via a video link during a ceremony to commemorate the death of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi and six officers, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that demolished Iran's consulate in Syria last Monday, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, April 8, 2024. Nasrallah paid tribute to Zahedi, who spent 12 years of his career as a top general at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force with Hezbollah. The Hezbollah leader said he played a key role in strengthening and empowering the group which fought several wars with Israel, and has become Iran's key proxy in the region. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks in a televised address via a video link during a ceremony to commemorate the death of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and six officers, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that demolished Iran's consulate in Syria last Monday, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Monday, April 8, 2024. Nasrallah paid tribute to Zahedi, who spent 12 years of his career as a top general at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force with Hezbollah. The Hezbollah leader said he played a key role in strengthening and empowering the group which fought several wars with Israel, and has become Iran's key proxy in the region. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of their comrade, Ali Ahmad Hussein, who was killed by an Israeli strike in south Lebanon, during his funeral procession in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Monday, April 8, 2024. Israel's military says it has killed a commander of Hezbollah's secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of their comrade, Ali Ahmad Hussein, who was killed by an Israeli strike in south Lebanon, during his funeral procession in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Monday, April 8, 2024. Israel's military says it has killed a commander of Hezbollah's secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Mourners grieve over the coffin of, Ali Ahmad Hussein, who was killed by an Israeli strike in south Lebanon, during his funeral procession in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Monday, April 8, 2024. Israel's military says it has killed a commander of Hezbollah's secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Hezbollah supporters wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags as Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks via a video link during a ceremony to commemorate the death of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and six officers, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike that demolished Iran's consulate in Syria last Monday, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, April 8, 2024. Nasrallah paid tribute to Zahedi, who spent 12 years of his career as a top general at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force with Hezbollah. The Hezbollah leader said he played a key role in strengthening and empowering the group which fought several wars with Israel, and has become Iran's key proxy in the region. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)