The US expects a retaliatory attack by Iran against Israel will not be of a magnitude that would draw Washington directly into the conflict, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Although such a strike by the Islamic Republic is anticipated, Tehran has reportedly indicated to the White House that it seeks to avoid a major escalation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is believed to have conveyed the corresponding message during his visit to Oman on Sunday. Tehran will also be pressing ahead with demands for a Gaza truce, as per Iranian sources.
Another source said Iran had “been very clear” that its response to the Israeli strike on its embassy in Syria’s capital would be “non-escalatory” and “controlled.”
Washington has also sought to assure Tehran that it was not involved in the strike, according to a cited White House spokesperson.
In the wake of the Israeli airstrike, speculation has mounted regarding the scale of an anticipated response from Tehran. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the aggression "violated all diplomatic norms and international treaties."
Iran has the right to take action in response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, the Iranian mission to the UN said. It added that Tehran would no longer have had an imperative to punish Israel over the attack if the UN Security Council had condemned it.
"Had the UN Security Council condemned the Zionist regime’s reprehensible act of aggression on our diplomatic premises in Damascus and subsequently brought to justice its perpetrators, the imperative for Iran to punish this rogue regime might have been obviated," the Iranian Mission said via the social media platform X.
Russia is in constant contact with Iran in light of Tehran's possible response to the Israeli strike against the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday.
Russia condemns Israel's attack on the Iranian Consulate and believes that condoning Israeli actions in the Middle East, which are the core of Washington's policy, is largely becoming the root cause of more and more tragedies, the diplomat added.