TEHRAN - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says brave Iranian men will "punish" Israel and make the evil regime "regret" its crime of assassinating the country's military advisors in Syria.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the announcement in a message on Tuesday, a day after Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran's consulate building in Damascus and killed seven military advisors of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The Leader said Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, and his deputy General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, were martyred in this crime perpetrated by the “usurping and despicable” Zionist regime.

“The evil regime will be punished by our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and other ones, by God's will,” the Leader added, noting that Iranians are contending with the heavy grief of the IRGC advisors’ martyrdom.

The Leader wished divine mercy for the victims of the terrorist attack and censured the leaders of the “oppressive and aggressive” Israeli regime.

Israeli warplanes bombed the Iranian consulate, situated next to the embassy building in Damascus’s Mezzeh district, on Monday afternoon.