The story: Iran and Russia have strongly condemned Israel for a deadly attack on a residential district of the Syrian capital. In an apparent escalation, the strike is claimed to have targeted senior Iranian military commanders.

• Iranian state media say no Iranian was killed. Meanwhile, reports allege that western intelligence tipped off Iraqi authorities about an impending onslaught, triggering the evacuation of the targeted sites. 
  
  
• The attack in Damascus also notably comes just over a week after a tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire was reportedly hit by drones in the Arabian Sea. The maritime incident in turn followed a drone strike on a military workshop in central Iran blamed on Israel.

The coverage: At least five people were killed in the alleged Israeli strike on Damascus in the early hours of Feb. 19, according to the Syrian military.

• The missiles struck the Kafr Sousa neighborhood, where a heavily guarded security complex is located. Officials say four civilians and a soldier...