Iran Focus
London, 19 Jun – The Iranian Regime launched several mid-range ballistic missiles at ISIS stronghold in the province of Deir al-Zour, Syria, on Sunday.
The Regime announced that it was targeting the headquarters of ISIS, who claimed responsibility for the terror attacks in Tehran which killed 18 people earlier this month. However, Reuters has not been able to independently verify this.
It is currently unknown whether the missiles struck their targets, as the Regime claim, as they have not fired mid-range missiles since the end of the Iran-Iraq war. This is especially confusing as activists in Syria didn’t have information about the claimed Iranian strikes.
The Regime gave the figures for the amount of ISIS militants killed, just a few minutes after firing the missiles and there is no way that they could have received that information so quickly. As a result, some people believe that the missiles may have ended up somewhere in the desert and the Regime are just claiming that they hit their targets.
Recently there have been concerns that the Iranian Regime may have planned terror attack in Iran. If this turns out to be true, then why would the Regime attack ISIS?
It is worth noting that there are American and coalition troops in the same province, fighting ISIS on the ground and the Regime made no moves to warn the troops about the missile attack, indicating that the Regime was willing to killing those fighting ISIS as well as ISIS themselves.
Some speculate it could be because the forces loyal to the Bashar Assad dictatorship in Syria, like the Iranian Regime, want to control the oil-rich Deir al-Zour Province. It is not a matter of revenge, as the Regime tell you, but of money.
This province is also a key area of land for the Iranian Regime because it represents a land border between Iraq and Syria, which the Regime could use in the creation of their Shiite crescent. It would ake it easier for them to track weapons, money and troops to terrorist cells across the Middle East.
This is being seen by American officials as a sign of Iran’s escalation in the Syrian Civil War, not as a revenge attack on a terrorist cell. It is more likely to have been a warning to the enemies of the Iranian Regime; Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the US.
The Americans stated that they did not want a confrontation with Iran or the other supporters of the Assad Regime, but that they would defend its anti-ISIS militias.
The official statement said: “The coalition’s mission is to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend coalition or partner forces from any threat.”
It appears that the Regime attempted to launch missiles into Syria, in order to gain control of an oil-rich area which was inhabited by ISIS militants, without even attempting to warn collation forces or civilians of the upcoming attacks and allow them time to evacuate.
