Iran's Chief of Staff Identifies ISIS as Responsible for Ahvaz Attack

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces referred to the IRGC's missile strikes in Syria as the "first stage of revenge for the terrorist attack in Ahvaz" and stated that "several ISIS commanders" were killed in this attack. According to Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri announced on Tuesday, October 1, that "further stages of revenge will also occur." In the early hours following the attack on the military parade in Ahvaz, some IRGC commanders identified the "Arab Liberation Movement of Ahvaz" as responsible for the attack. However, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the Ahvaz attack by releasing a video of the assailants. The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces stated that the missiles fired at Syria "for the first time crossed the airspace of several countries" and traveled over 550 kilometers to reach their target. He also mentioned that "according to accurate reports, significant casualties have been inflicted on ISIS, and several commanders of this group" have been killed. The Chief of Staff did not mention the names of the ISIS commanders allegedly killed in this attack. Baqeri also noted that these missiles struck an area that is "close to the area under American responsibility" in Syria. His statements come after he previously accused Saudi Arabia of being involved in the attack on the military parade in Ahvaz and warned that if this country does not "correct" its behavior and "apologize," the armed forces of the Islamic Republic reserve the right to respond "decisively" at any time and place. The IRGC announced that it targeted the "headquarters of the leaders" of the Ahvaz attack in eastern Euphrates in Syria with six medium-range ballistic missiles. Slogans such as "Death to Al Saud," "Death to Israel," and "Death to America" were written on the missiles fired by the IRGC. Meanwhile, Mohammad Saleh Jokar, the parliamentary deputy of the IRGC, defended these slogans and reiterated previous statements by Iranian officials, claiming that the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia created ISIS. This claim has previously been made by Iranian officials without evidence, despite the U.S. forming a coalition to fight ISIS. Videos circulating on social media, including on YouTube and Twitter, suggest that the IRGC missiles were launched from Kermanshah. In one of them, it appears that one of the missiles fell near the launch site. However, Hoshang Bazvand, the governor of Kermanshah, denied reports about a missile falling in this province. Iranian television reported that the missiles struck the city of Boukamal in Deir ez-Zor province near the Iraqi border, a city where Qassem Soleimani mentioned in a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on November 21, 2017, about the "lowering" of the flag of the so-called Islamic State and the "end of ISIS's dominance." The IRGC also launched missile attacks on Deir ez-Zor after the attacks on the Iranian parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini on June 28, 2017. On September 17, the IRGC also targeted the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the city of Koy Sanjaq in Iraq. On Sunday, the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Mostafa Hijri reported an attack by an "unmanned aerial vehicle" of the Iranian military forces on its forces in the "Kudo Mountains" in the border area between Iran and Iraq. In this context, the Islamic State group released a video of the "attackers of the Ahvaz parade." Reuters reported the transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Iraq, produced by Shiite groups. An Israeli official confirmed the conduct of 200 military attacks on targets in Syrian territory. Baghdad stated that the shelling of the headquarters of two Kurdish parties by the IRGC violates Iraq's sovereignty. CNN reported intelligence estimates indicating the likelihood of Iranian proxy groups attacking U.S. interests. The changing battlefield of "proxies"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The Iran crisis; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis.