Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was in Damascus on Monday to inaugurate a new site for Iranian consular services after Israeli airstrikes destroyed the former consulate building and killed seven Iranians, including two senior generals.

At a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, Amirabdollahian vowed Iran would respond to Israel and said the US should be held “accountable” due to its support for the Israeli military.

“From here, from Damascus, I say with loud voice that the United States is responsible for the terrorist crime against the Iranian Consulate and must be held accountable, and the Zionist entity will be punished for its crime,” Amirabdollahian said.

He said that because the US hasn’t condemned the Israeli bombing of a diplomatic facility, that means the US “granted the green light to the entity to commit that crime.”

Amirabdollahian also met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who condemned the Israeli bombing. According to SANA, Assad said the “Zionist entity’s bombardment on civilians in Gaza in such unprecedented bloody and brutal way is an indication to its failure to achieve its military targets.”

Amirabdollahian’s visit to Damascus comes as the US and Israel are preparing for a potential Iranian response. US officials have said they’re concerned Iran might hit targets inside Israel or target an Israeli diplomatic facility in the region.

Iran has a history of being very restrained in its response to Israeli attacks, but the bombing of a diplomatic facility marked a huge escalation in Israel’s targeting of Iranians.

This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.