Iran launches missiles at Daesh targets in Syria following Tehran attacks

TEHRAN: Iran has targeted militants in Syria with missiles in retaliation for deadly attacks in Tehran.

Late Sunday, the elite Revolutionary Guards launched six missiles from western Iran into Syria´s mostly Daesh held Deir Ezzor province, hitting their command base, the Guards said.

The strike was "revenge" for twin attacks in Tehran on June 7 that killed 17 people in the first Daesh claimed attacks inside Iran, a Guards spokesman added.

As well as punishing "terrorists", it was intended to show that Iran is capable of projecting military power across the region, officials and experts said.

Sunday´s strike was the first known missile attack launched from Iran into foreign territory since the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.

"The missile attacks were only a small part of Iran´s punitive power against terrorists and enemies," Guards spokesman General Ramezan Sharif said Monday.

"International and regional supporters of the terrorists must realise the warning message of the missile operation."

Iran has long accused the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of backing "terrorists".

US President Donald Trump meanwhile accuses Iran of backing terrorism, a charge it denies and has threatened to tear up a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.