At UN, airstrike on Iranian embassy in Syria denounced

China's ambassador to the United Nations strongly condemned on Tuesday a deadly airstrike blamed on Israel, which demolished an Iranian consulate in Syria.

"This attack seriously violated the United Nations Charter and international law, violated both Syria's and Iran's sovereignty, and was extremely vile in nature. China strongly condemns it," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told a UN Security Council emergency meeting.

The suspected Israeli airstrike targeted a building within the compound of the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari reported to the Security Council that the attack killed at least five Iranian staff members, including top military advisers, with the total death toll rising to 13, including six Syrians.

Geng said he empathized with the Iranians as he recalled the NATO bombing of the former Chinese embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, killing three Chinese journalists.

"We share the grief of the Iranian government and people at this time and express our deep sympathy and condolences to them," he said.

"According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international treaty ensuring diplomats can perform their duties without interference from the host country's laws, and the universally recognized basic norms of international relations, the security of diplomatic institutions is inviolable."

Fears of escalating regional tensions have risen following the airstrike.

"The situation in the Middle East is already precarious," Geng said.

He said Israel frequently carries out cross-border strikes against targets in Syria and Lebanon, "seriously violating the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the countries concerned and exacerbating tensions in the entire region".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and called on "all parties to respect all of their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable".

Iran vowed on Tuesday to take revenge for the attack.

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com