Iran condemns Israeli airstrike in Syria targeting Tehran-supplied missiles
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This photo released on the official Facebook page of Syrian President Bashar Assad, shows Syrian president Bashar Assad, right, surrounded by bodyguards as young people, wave at him during the inauguration ceremony on Saturday of a statue dedicated to "martyrs" from Syrian universities who died in the country's two-year-old uprising and civil war, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May. 4, 2013. Assad's second public appearance in a week came as Israeli officials confirmed the country's air force carried out a strike against Syria, saying it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman is condemning an Israeli airstrike in Syria on a shipment of Iranian-made missiles, but gives no other hints of a possible stronger response from Tehran or its allies.
Ramin Mehmanparast is quoted Sunday by the semiofficial Fars news agency as denouncing the attack on the missiles, which were believed en route to Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. It's the first Iranian comments since Israel launched a first round of airstrikes on Friday, then another round on Sunday.
Mehmanparast urges countries in the region to remain united against Israel, but gives no other suggestions of possible further action in response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attack signals a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's more than 2-year-old civil war between rebels and the forces of President Bashar Assad, a key Iranian ally.