Iran’s news agency ISNA said that the meeting
between Khamenei and the leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) took place two weeks ago, a few hours after the missile
strikes were launched the provinces of Kurdistan and Kermanshah.
June 24 was the last day for the month of Ramadan in 2017.
Khamenei also called for expanding the missile
industry, when he said: “Do everything you can to develop the missiles,
notice how your enemy fears it. Be aware of the importance of what you
are doing in this area.”
Iran’s missile activities have sparked
widespread debate in the West, particularly in the United States, where
US government institutions, including Congress have imposed sanctions
against Tehran’s missile activities.
According to the Persian-speaking war reports,
which track Iran’s military intervention in Iraq and Syria, IRGC’s
claims were similar to the Russian statements that bombed civilian
targets under the pretext of targeting ISIS headquarters.
A spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard, Brigadier General Ramadan Sharif, told the Iranian agency Tasnim
that the strikes were coordinated with Damascus, adding that the
missiles crossed the Iraqi airspace.
Meanwhile, observers believe that Iranian
authorities sought to conceal this meeting to make sure that the
missiles had hit the right targets. Some reports said four out of the
six missiles launched fell in Iraq on its way to Syria.
Press reports had previously confirmed that
Iran’s rocket attacks on Deir el-Zour in eastern Syria have hit civilian
targets, contradicting IRGC’s claims.
Iranian media had published a clip claimed it
showed the launch of the Zulfiqar missiles on ISIS targets, but maps,
photographs and video clips broadcasted by Iranian agencies showed no
actual sites of the militant group.
(The article was originally
published at the Arabic language website for Al Arabiya News Channel)