On June 18, Iran launched six Zolfaghar missiles into eastern Syria targeting ISIS militants in the Deir ez-Zor region. The missiles were fired from Iranian bases in its western provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan and flew over 600 km before reportedly hitting their targets. The strike, which the IRGC has titled “Operation Laylat al-Qadar,” comes in retaliation for ISIS-claimed attacks in Tehran on June 7 in which at least 18 were killed and over 50 wounded. This was Iran’s longest-range missile strike since its war with Iraq, which ended in 1988.

The Zolfaghar is a surface-to-surface, solid-fueled short-range ballistic missile with a range of approximately 700 km. It was first unveiled in September 2016 and reportedly carries submunition warheads.