Iran has launched a series of ballistic missiles aimed at U.S. backed rebels in Syria, including ISIS, following the terrorist attack in Tehran earlier in the month.
Last week Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the U.S. and Saudi Arabia for orchestrating the ISIS attack in Iran’s capital city – vowing to retaliate against the attack.
On Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched mid-range ballistic missiles in the Syrian province of Deir-ez Zor, fulfilling their threat of retaliation.
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Rt.com reports: “The spilling of any innocent blood will not go unanswered,” Press TV cited a statement by the Revolutionary Guards as saying.
#IRGC targets terrorists positions in #Syria's Deir ez-Zor with mid-range ballistic missiles in retaliation 4 #Tehranattacks #Breakingnews
— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) June 18, 2017
The Revolutionary Guards targeted the bases and headquarters of terrorists that Iran believes to be responsible for the Tehran attacks. The missiles have reportedly killed large numbers of terrorists and inflicted significant material damage, Tasnim said.
A number of videos purporting to show the moment of the missile launch have emerged online.
The first video was taken in a western Iranian city by a man who seems to have spotted the missile launch.
“I bet that’s a missile,” a man in the video is heard saying.
https://twitter.com/FarsNews_Agency/status/876527153558454272
وكالة أنباء فارس تنشر الصور الأولى لصاروخ أطلقته القوات الإيرانية متوسط المدى انطلق من الأراضي الإيرانية واستهدف دير الزور في سوريا pic.twitter.com/vyIFopRXtP
— إبراهيم عرب İbrahim Arab (@IbrahimArab) June 18, 2017
The terrorists targeted the Iranian capital on June 7 in a twin attack, with four armed assailants attacking the country’s parliament while a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Imam Khomeini Mausoleum. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 18 people and injured 50 more.
While the Iranian missile strike is a significant military action, its main goal was political, according to Peter Ford, a former UK Ambassador to Syria and Bahrain, who believes the strike will send a clear message to Iran’s enemies in the region.
“Militarily, it’s significant. The strike appears to have taken out quite a number of ISIS fighters and leadership. But the political ramifications are the most important. Saudi Arabia will have received the signal loud and clear,” Ford told RT.
“Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, encouraged by Donald Trump, has thrown down the gauntlet to Tehran and been virtually threatening military moves against Tehran. Well, here’s Tehran’s response: Don’t mess with us, we have a long reach.”
