Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have launched a mid-range ballistic missile attack on terrorist positions in the Syrian province of Deir-ez Zor in retaliation for terrorist attacks in Tehran, Tasnim news agency reports.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have reportedly launched ground-to-ground mid-range ballistic missiles from the western Iranian provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan into the eastern Syrian province of Deir-ez Zor.
“The spilling of any innocent blood will not go unanswered,” Press TV cited a statement by the Revolutionary Guards as saying.
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.
The Revolutionary Guards used Zulfiqar solid fuel ballistic missiles, which have an effective range of 700 kilometers, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.
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.
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.
READ MORE: 12 killed, dozens injured in shootings & bombings at Iranian parliament & Khomeini shrine
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.”