Syrian state media slammed Western strikes on Saturday as illegal and "doomed to fail," after the US, France, and Britain launched a joint operation against the Damascus government.
"The aggression is a flagrant violation of international law, a breach of the international community's will, and it is doomed to fail," said state news agency SANA.
Huge blasts were reported around Damascus early on Saturday, moments after the US, France, and Britain announced they were striking Syria's chemical weapons capabilities.
AFP's correspondent in Damascus said several consecutive blasts were heard at 4:00 am local time (0100 GMT), followed by the sound of airplanes overhead. Smoke could be seen emerging from the northern and eastern edges of the capital.
State media published images of a cloud of reddish smoke hanging over the capital and said that air defences were activated to block the attack.
SANA reported the joint operation hit a research centre northeast of the capital as well as other military installations around Damascus but said missiles targeting army depots in Homs had been intercepted.
It said skies were clear over Aleppo in the north, Hasakeh in the northeast, and Latakia and Tartus along the western coast, where key Syrian and Russian military installations are located.
The joint operation came one week after a suspected chemical attack outside Damascus left more than 40 people dead.
Iran warned of "regional consequences" on Saturday following the wave of punitive strikes.
"The United States and its allies have no proof and, without even waiting for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take a position, have carried out this military attack," said the foreign ministry in a statement.
They "are responsible for the regional consequences of this adventurist action," it said, condemning a "clear violation of international rules and laws".
Iran is the key backer alongside Russia of the Syrian president, providing military advisors and "volunteer" ground forces.
Tehran officials have said Western powers are using last week's alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held stronghold as an excuse to undermine the Syrian government's recent successes on the battlefield.
"This aggression is designed to compensate for the defeat of the terrorists" in Eastern Ghouta, an area recently recaptured by Syrian government forces, Iran's foreign ministry said.
In a sign of mounting regional tensions, seven Iranians were killed in an air strike on a Syrian military base on Monday, which Iran said was carried out by Israel.
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