US Was Mad at Israel For Not Warning About Its Plan to Attack Iranian Consulate in Syria - Report

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US officials were angry that Israel launched an aggressive attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 without first consulting Washington, the US media reported, citing US and Israeli officials.

US officials publicly voiced support for Israel, but privately, were angered that Tel Aviv would take such action against Iran without consulting the United States.

According to the report, Israel had miscalculated, believing Tehran would not give a strong response to the April 1 attack.

Planning for the Israeli strike in Syria began two months earlier and the target was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander for Syria and Lebanon of Iran’s elite Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the report said.

On March 22, the Israeli war cabinet approved the operation, according to internal Israeli defense records.

On April 1, Israel carried out an airstrike on the consular annex of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, destroying the building. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said seven of its members had been killed in the attack, including two commanders. On April 2, the Syrian Health Ministry said that the attack had also killed four Syrians and injured 13 more.

Last week, Iran's IRGC launched over 300 drones and missiles at Israel in its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) data. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said that Israel had intercepted 99% of the aerial targets fired by Iran, including all drones.

Russian officials repeatedly stressed that the root cause of events in the Middle East is the unresolved Palestine-Israel conflict and urged Mideast politicians to tread lightly.

Vladimir Putin discussed Mideast escalation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a phone call and expressed hope that all involved parties will show restraint.