Iran fires missiles into Syria to answer ISIS attacks in Teheran

It comes amid the worsening of a long-running feud between Shiite powerhouse Iran and Saudi Arabia, which supports Syrian rebels and has led recent efforts to isolate the Gulf nation of Qatar.

A second US official said the use of ballistic missiles may also have been intended as a signal that Iran remains committed to supporting Assad and a reminder that USA forces and bases in the region are within reach of Iranian missiles and ground forces.

“A number of mid-range ground-to-ground missiles [were] fired from the IRGC Aerospace Force bases in Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces”, according to a statement from the IRGC announcing the attack.

Iran has targeted jihadists in Syria with missiles in retaliation for deadly attacks in Tehran, but the strike was also a message to its regional rivals and Washington, experts say.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the Syrian government was “informed” of the missile attacks at Islamic State strongholds in eastern Syria.

The Syrian army said the jet was shot down while flying a mission against Islamic State. And can it succeed when Russian Federation is threatening to attack USA aircraft if they again strike at Syrian jets?

“The missile attacks were only a small part of Iran’s punitive power against terrorists and enemies”, Guards spokesman General Ramezan Sharif said Monday. The extremist group’s 7 June attack on Tehran left at least 18 people dead and more than 50 injured.

Recently, tensions have escalated on multiple fronts, between the USA and the Saudis on one side and Iran on the other.

The missiles flew over Iraq before striking what the Guard called an IS command centre and suicide auto bomb operation in Deir el-Zour, over 600 kilometres (370 miles) away. I have one message to Iran: “‘Don’t threaten Israel'”.

The Syrian military said that the jet shot down had been carrying out anti-Islamic State operations, and that its lone pilot was killed in the strike.

The Iranian parliament speaker went on to add, “Saudi Arabia’s measures will ultimately benefit Israel”. A United States official told AFP the pilot of the Syrian plane appeared to have ejected before the jet was hit, though his fate was unknown.

Recently there have been concerns that the Iranian Regime may have planned terror attack in Iran.

The administration of President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hawkish position towards Iran since taking office in January but Tillerson’s testimony to a Congressional committee last week appeared to be the first expression of support for a change of government.

Going one step further, the argument would note: Even if Iran’s nuclear program is now delayed by its deal with the West, in around another eight years, Iran could be launching ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads attached.

The Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the launch “Operation Laylat al-Qadar”, referring to the night Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

It is unclear whether the IRGC also coordinated with Iraq prior to launching the missiles into Iraqi airspace.

Speaking to The Times of Israel later Monday, Ya’ari said his information was based on security sources, and that these sources were “amazed” at the poor performance of the Iranian missiles.

The official was not authorized to be quoted by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A senior White House official said: “The strategy for Syria is to defeat ISIS and first and foremost achievement of a de-escalation of the conflict so we can work toward a political resolution”.