On Saturday, Baghaei expressed his condolences to the Iranian people and the family of Davoud Bitaraf, a local staff member at Iran's embassy in Syria, who was tragically martyred when his vehicle was shot by "terrorist elements" in Damascus on December 15.

Baghaei strongly condemned this "criminal act", noting that Bitaraf's body had been found, identified, and returned to Iran in recent days.

He also reminded Syria's transitional government of its responsibility to identify and punish those responsible for this crime, emphasizing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pursuing the matter seriously through various diplomatic and international channels in an appropriate manner. 

MNA/