24 June, 2017
He said it took just 11 days for IRGC forces to pinpoint the command and planning posts used to spearhead the Tehran terror attacks, most of which lied in Deir Ezzor. A pro-Damascus commander said Tehran and Washington were drawing "red lines".
The incident with the Syrian plane began after the US -backed rebel fighters, called the Syrian Democratic Forces, were attacked by what the American military called "pro-Syrian regime forces".
The presence of Iranian-backed troops, artillery and tanks and US -led coalition forces in southern Syria, namely around the at-Tanf crossing at the Iraq-Syria border, has slowly turned the area into a flash point.
The U.S. military says it shot down an Iranian-made, armed drone in southern Syria. "I'll leave it to the Russians to state their level of participation". This month Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, supported by US advisers and air power, began the battle for Raqqa, the militants' self-declared capital.
The SDF however accused the Syrian government on Monday of attacking its positions using planes, artillery and tanks. "We are tracking their actions and also their words".
Despite these efforts, a Syrian SU-22 warplane later arrived on the scene and dropped bombs near the USA -backed rebels. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 20 warned Iraq's leader against weakening Shi'ite paramilitary groups and relying on the United States in the battle against the Islamic State.
Iran's ballistic missile programme, which represents a clear threat to the world, was not addressed in the 2015 nuclear deal and has now been subject to additional sanctions.
To "honor the blood spilled by innocent people on June 7 in Tehran", the IRGC fired six medium-range ground-to-ground missiles from their bases in Kurdistan and Kermanshah provinces in western Iran.
The missiles flew over Iraq before striking what the Guard called an Islamic State command center and suicide auto bomb operation in Deir el-Zour, over 600 kilometers (370 miles) away.
Senior Guard commanders said on Monday that the missile strikes were meant to send a message to "terrorists" who carried out attacks in Tehran two weeks ago as well as their regional and global supporters, a reference to Saudi Arabia and the United States.
While Saudi Arabia has spent billions on American weapons, Iran has developed a range of homemade ballistic missiles - including some that are capable of hitting Israel or American military bases in the region. A projectile can be seen hitting a building followed by thick black smoke billowing out.
After Iran launched missiles into Syria, an advisor to the Iranian foreign minister, Sheikh Hussein al-Islam, said that Israel "is the main enemy" of Iran and that Israel should be anxious.
The Iranian leader made the remarks during meeting with the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Tensions between longtime rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have escalated in recent weeks after the Saudis and their Gulf partners cut ties to Qatar, citing, in part, its association to Iran and Tehran's alleged link to terrorism.
Emboldened Sunni Arab states backed by Trump have hardened their stance against Iran.
