Iran's foreign minister in Syria for talks with Syrian officials

Iran's foreign minister arrived on Monday in the Syrian capital to hold talks with Syrian officials, a week after a suspected Israeli airstrike on a building offering consular services in Damascus.

Hossein Amirabdollahian met upon his arrival with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad and then held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the state-run Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported.

Amirabdollahian reiterated threats against Israel and vowed punishment and a "strong response," the Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying.

On April 1, two brigadier generals and five other members of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in an airstrike on the annex just next to the main Iranian embassy building where consular services were being done.

Iran's Foreign Ministry blames Israel for this.

The Israeli side has not commented on the incident so far.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened retaliation, according to the state news agency IRNA.

The Iranian official during his visit to Damascus also inaugurated a temporary consular headquarters to replace the one which was destroyed.

The new building is located on Mezze highway, 100 metres away from the embassy.

An Iranian diplomatic source told dpa "the temporary consular headquarters was quickly secured over the past few days so as not to affect citizens wishing to travel to Iran and to prevent their interests from being harmed.”

Over the weekend, the Iranian foreign minister was a guest in the Gulf state of Oman, where he also spoke to a representative of the pro-Iranian Houthi militia.

In the past, Oman has repeatedly acted as a mediator between Iran and the West, especially the United States.