Iran: Strike on Our Damascus Consulate a ‘Crazy Step’, Washington is Involved

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)
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Iran: Strike on Our Damascus Consulate a ‘Crazy Step’, Washington is Involved

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)
Rescue workers search through the rubble of a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Damascus (AFP)

Major General Mohammad Baqeri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said on Saturday that the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus is a “crazy move” and that Washington is involved in it, the Arab World Press agency reported on Saturday.
In a speech during the funeral procession of the Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Baqeri said that the retaliation for his killing "will be at the appropriate time and place, and it will make (the enemy) regret their action."

He added saying: "We are the ones who determine the method of retaliation. Israel must know that its days are numbered, and its demise is imminent".
The Iranian consulate in Damascus was bombed on Monday in a strike that killed 13 people, including Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm.

 



A Blast at a Fireworks Factory in Central China Kills 9 People

General view of buildings along the Yangtze River in Chongqing, in southwestern China's Chongqing on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
General view of buildings along the Yangtze River in Chongqing, in southwestern China's Chongqing on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
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A Blast at a Fireworks Factory in Central China Kills 9 People

General view of buildings along the Yangtze River in Chongqing, in southwestern China's Chongqing on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
General view of buildings along the Yangtze River in Chongqing, in southwestern China's Chongqing on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

An explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed nine people and injured 26 others, state media said Tuesday.

A huge plume of smoke could be seen rising into the sky after the Monday morning blast in a video posted online by state media. The Shanzhou Fireworks Co. factory is in a mountainous part of Linli county, north of the city of Changde in Hunan province.

The risk of further explosions and the lack of a major water source complicated the firefighting and the search for victims, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report around midday Tuesday. Firefighters set up remote-controlled water cannons and brought in 28 water tankers and two trucks with high-powered pumps.

The Ministry of Emergency Management sent a working team to the site. The cause of the explosion was under investigation.