Shafaq News/ On Saturday, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Syrian armed factions, which have taken control of Aleppo, targeted the Iranian consulate in the city.

The Ministry condemned what it described as an "attack by terrorist elements" on its consulate in Aleppo during the factions' advance in the city. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei Hamaneh assured state media that "the Consul General and all consulate staff in Aleppo are safe."

In a related development, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to visit Syria on Sunday. Baghaei noted that Araghchi "will travel to Damascus on Sunday for talks with Syrian authorities," before heading to Turkiye for "consultations on regional issues, particularly recent developments."

Iranian state media also reported that Araghchi informed his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in a phone call that the armed factions' attacks are "part of an Israeli-American plan to destabilize the region."

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement about the call, saying that the two ministers "expressed deep concern over the serious escalation of the situation in Syria due to the terrorist attack by armed groups in Aleppo and Idlib provinces." The ministers agreed on the need to intensify joint efforts to stabilize the situation in Syria.

Over the past two days, militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, and allied factions have seized control of 32 villages and targeted strategic locations, including a military airbase southeast of Aleppo, where a helicopter was destroyed using drones.

In response, the Syrian and Russian air forces have conducted continuous airstrikes on HTS positions. The Syrian army has acknowledged the need to redeploy its forces to counter the offensive, signaling intensified fighting on the Aleppo and Idlib fronts.