Conflicting Reports on Baqeri's Statements About the 'Largest Operation of the Century Against ISIS'

Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, announced on Thursday, June 8, that "the world will witness the largest and most extensive operation of the century in the Middle East against ISIS terrorists in the coming days." This statement has been denied by a military source. According to Khabar Online, citing Young Journalists Club, the military official speaking at the Police Sciences University added, "The enemy's aggression will face a decisive response in the locations we determine." He also stated that currently, "73 Phantom bombers and 45 Sukhoi aircraft are ready for orders from military officials to begin the largest air operation in the world in the past 30 years." This news comes at a time when Fars and ISNA news agencies have denied it. Fars and ISNA reported that a knowledgeable source in the General Staff of the Armed Forces "denied the news attributed to Major General Mohammad Baqeri on some social media about 'the beginning of the great operation against ISIS in the coming days.'" Meanwhile, Young Journalists Club has also removed this news. At the same time, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated in a television program that "we will definitely take revenge on the perpetrators, instigators, and commanders of this action, and our response will be devastating," adding, "Our hands are open, and we have various options, and if we are not doing many things, it is due to considerations that we do not want conflicts to escalate or lead to division." He continued, "However, if they want to act against us, we will confront them wherever they are, and our revenge will certainly be on a scale thousands of times larger than what happened on Wednesday." These remarks were made after two groups of armed individuals attacked the Iranian Parliament and the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, June 7, resulting in at least 17 deaths and about 40 injuries. According to Iranian officials, all attackers, except for one woman, were killed. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Intelligence on Thursday published the names and images of the deceased attackers, stating without revealing their last names that they entered Iran in August 2016 "under the command of Abu Aisha, a senior ISIS commander" and returned abroad after his death. The ministry identified the deceased attackers as Ramin, Qayyum, Fereydoun, Abu Jihad, and Saryas. The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for these attacks. Previously, Reza Seyfollahi, the deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, had announced that the perpetrators of these attacks were "Iranian." According to the Ministry of Intelligence's announcement, the attackers at the Iranian Parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini were "five elements of known terrorists affiliated with Wahhabi and Takfiri groups who, after being recruited" into ISIS, had left the country and participated in several operations of this group "in Mosul and Raqqa." Iranian officials and institutions use the term "Takfiri groups" to refer to groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda, as well as some Sunni groups opposed to the government. The term "Wahhabi groups" is also used in the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence's statement, while Iranian officials usually apply this term to Sunni groups "affiliated" with Saudi Arabia. In this context, the police chief of Iran stated that security and law enforcement measures in sensitive centers have been intensified. The Ministry of Intelligence published the names and images of the attackers in the Tehran assaults. The Tehran police reported the arrest of several suspects in connection with the attack on the Khomeini mausoleum. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic described ISIS's attacks in Tehran as "firecrackers." ISIS threatened that more attacks against Iranians are on the way.