Iran’s Attack on ISIS Boosts Sense of Belonging to IRGC

Since the very early moments after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fired six missiles on the positions of terrorists in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor, Iranian users have been loading social networks with messages praising the IRGC’s prompt action.

What is important is that political and partisan demarcations have faded in these popular complimentary postings. The ISIS terror attacks on the Iranian parliament building and the late Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum incurred the wrath of different Iranian ethnic groups, making the Armed Forces and those who are responsible for the country’s security to put on their agenda the necessity of “punishment” as a national demand. Today, clear manifestations of national appreciation can be seen on social networks.

The following are comments about the recent attack on ISIS positions posted by Sahand Iranmehr, an Iranian commentator, on his Telegram channel.

1. There is no doubt that the attack on areas under the ISIS control in Deir ez-Zor was a prompt action. The missile strike should be understood and explained within the framework of “legitimate defence,” a key and defensible concept which gives Iran the right to give a proper response to any attempt to disrupt the country’s security.
2. Iran’s development of its missile capabilities is not a new event, but Sunday night was the time when the country experienced its first missile operation. The coincidence of the missile strike with the recent regional developments and Saudi Arabia’s muscle-flexing in Yemen and Qatar will send a meaningful message to Riyadh. With this strike, events will enter a new phase, and “military power” will assume a new meaning in the region, which, in turn, will subject countries’ security strategies to dramatic changes.
3. Although the missile operation targeted the ISIS terror group, it had meaningful messages for other addressees as well. These addressees will undoubtedly receive Tehran’s message and send their own messages to Iran in other fronts.
4. Any military operation also has a diplomatic dimension which safeguards its achievements and wards off its negative consequences. So, the operations should not only be limited to, and monitored in a military context.
5. The IRGC’s operation was a strong reaction to an act of terror against Iranians. Many Iranian people from all walks of life take pride in such a move that has rekindled in them a sense of belonging to the IRGC forces and won support by all groups, even by some individuals allegedly affiliated with the opposition overseas.
6. I don’t know whether it was simply due to technical reasons that the missiles were fired from Kurdish-majority areas in western Iran, or it was meant to send a message. Maybe the missiles were intended to be fired from the same area a handful of whose people were tempted and recruited by ISIS to carry out terrorist operations in Iran [those involved in Tehran attacks were mostly Kurdish people]. In that case, the location was exactly the right place for the missile operation.