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TEHRAN – The Iranian Revolutionary Guards launched six ballistic missiles and bomber drones on Monday morning in the direction of eastern Syria. They accused the terrorists of attacking a military parade last month, while threatening Israel and other opponents of the region.
The missiles carried anti-Israeli, anti-American and anti-Saudi slogans. A national television missile carried the slogans "Death in America, Death in Israel, Death in Al Saud", referring to the ruling family in Saudi Arabia. The missile also bore in Arabic the phrase "kill the friends of Satan", in reference to a verse from the Koran on the fight against the infidels.
The missiles had sufficient range to strike US regional bases and military targets in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's top leader called the two Arab countries, accusing them of being behind the September 22 attack on the parade in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, which Riyadh and Abu Dhabi denied.
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The Israeli newspaper Hadashot TV reported Monday night that one of the Iranian missiles crashed shortly after its launch.
Monday's strike was Iran's second missile attack in a month, and tension mounted before new US sanctions against the Tehran oil industry came into effect in early November.
On this photo published on October 1, 2018 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, a missile is fired from the city of Kermanshah, in the west of Iran, targeting the Islamic State group in Syria (Sepahnews via AP )
"It's the roar of missiles belonging to the Revolutionary Guards of the Islamic Revolution," said an Iranian television reporter as the missiles were launched behind him. "In a few minutes, the world of arrogance – especially America, the (Israeli) Zionist regime and Al Saud – will hear the sound of repeated blows from Iran." Al Saud is a reference to the royal family of Saudi Arabia.
Iran's state television and the official IRNA news agency said the missiles had "killed and injured" militants in Syria, without giving further details. Missiles, launched from the west of Iran, flew over Iraq and landed near the city of Boukamal, in the extreme south-east of Syria, they reported. .
Written slogans about missiles launched by #Iran Today according to Iran State TV:
"Down with the USA"
"Down with Israel"
"Down with Saud's house"– Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) October 1, 2018
"The terrorists used bullets in Ahvaz," General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guard's aerospace division, told the unofficial Tashnim news agency. "We responded with missiles."
The Guard, a paramilitary group reporting directly to the supreme leader, said he followed the missiles with the help of bombing directed by seven remote-controlled drones, a first for Iran. State television broadcast footage of a drone dropping what appeared to be unguided ammunition.
Boukamal is being held by Syrian government forces, but ISIS still maintains a presence in the region, although it is driven out of virtually all the territory it once occupied in Syria and Iraq.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told The Associated Press that Iranian missiles had struck the town of Hajin, north of Boukamal.
Strong explosions rocked the area Monday morning, reverberating east of the Euphrates, he said. Allied Kurdish fighters in the United States fought for weeks against IS in and around Hajin.
The US Army Central Command acknowledged that Iranian forces had conducted "unannounced strikes" in the area.
"The coalition is still assessing whether any damage has been done and no coalition forces are in danger," said Colonel Sean Ryan.
The IS militants did not immediately recognize the attack.
The launch of the missile further adds to the confusion over the assault on a military parade that left at least 24 dead and more than 60 wounded.
Iran first blamed the Arab separatists for the attack in which armed men disguised as soldiers opened fire on the crowd and officials watching the parade from an observation deck. Arab separatists, who have long complained of discrimination in predominantly Persian Iran, have claimed responsibility for the attack and provided specific details about one of the attackers.
The Islamic State group also claimed responsibility for the Ahvaz assault, but initially made inaccurate factual statements about it. Later, the IS released images of several men that Iran has finally identified as assailants, although these men are not known to have sworn allegiance to the extremist group.
In announcing the launch, the Iranian media said the missiles targeted both "takfiri" militants – a term it often applies to the Islamic State group – and Ahvazi separatists. Separatists are not known to work with IS in the past.
Mohsen Rezaei, who previously led the Guard, praised the missile strike on Twitter, adding that the "main punishment is on the verge", suggesting that new attacks could be imminent.
The semi-official Fars news agency, presumed close to the Guard, identified the six missiles used as variants of Zolfaghar and Qiam, with respective ranges of 750 kilometers (465 miles) and 800 kilometers (500 miles). These missiles can reach targets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as US bases.
Regional tensions have increased since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal reached by Iran and the world powers in May. The United Nations said that Iran still respected the terms of the agreement, in which it limited uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Two Iranian worshipers hold up anti-American and anti-Israeli placards at a rally to condemn Saturday's terrorist attack in Ahvaz after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, on September 28, 2018 (Photo AP / Ebrahim Noroozi)
The already weak Iranian economy has suffered since the withdrawal of the United States and its currency is now trading at 170,000 rials for one US dollar. In May, the rate rose to about 62,000. A year ago, it was 39,000.
This is the third time in about a year that Iran has fired ballistic missiles beyond its borders.
Last year, Iran launched ballistic missiles on Syria after a bloody attack by the Islamic State against Tehran, targeting parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In September, Iran launched missiles on Iraq aimed at a base of an Iranian Kurdish separatist group. The separatists say the strike killed at least 15 people and injured more than 50 people.
"Iranian missiles are a message to more than one party," said Talal Atrissi, a researcher in regional affairs at Al Maaref University in Beirut. "It's a message that when Iran threatens, it executes its threats, and that's important for Iran. The second message is that the sanctions will not prevent Iran from defending itself. "
On this photo provided by the news agency Mehr, civilians are trying to shelter on a shooting scene, during a military parade marking the 38th anniversary of the Iranian invasion of Iran. Iraq in 1980, in the city of Ahvaz (southwest), on September 22, 2018 (Photo AP / Mehr News Agency, Mehdi Pedramkhoo)
In a three-minute audio recording released last week, ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir said Iran "has not recovered from the terrible shock, God willing," would not be the last.
The deputy head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards warned Israel and the United States that they could expect a "devastating" response from Iran, repeating the charges of involvement in the bombing.
An Iranian holds a placard denouncing the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia during mass funeral in honor of the victims of those killed during an organized attack during a parade military this weekend, in the city of Ahvaz, in southwestern Iran, on September 24, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE)
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