Iran Says It Fired Missiles at Terror Bases in Eastern Syria

Australia on Tuesday suspended its airstrikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria as a precaution, after a US fighter jet shot down a Syrian warplane earlier this week and Russian Federation warned the USA -led coalition from flying over Syrian army positions west of the Euphrates River.

US anti-ISIS strategy in Syria relies on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group largely composed of Kurdish fighters.

Iran said it fired missiles at Islamic State targets in Syria in retaliation for the jihadists' deadly attacks in Tehran last week, a rare strike signalling Iran's willingness to escalate its use of military power in the region's conflicts. They recently deployed rocket launchers, called HIMARS, at the base to support Syrian Democratic Forces operating in the area and to provide protection to the garrison.

In addition to downing the Syrian jet near Raqqa, the US has also fired on Syrian government forces in the east on three occasions in just the last month.

Iran has been a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's civil war and the IRGC has played a crucial role on the ground.

President Donald Trump has ordered stepped-up military operations against the Islamic State (IS) and delegated more authority to his generals, but without a comprehensive Syria strategy, his approach risks further confrontation with Syria, Iran and even Russian Federation, according to U.S. officials and analysts.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fired six medium-range missiles which pounded IS command headquarters as well as arms and ammunition centers June 18 night, the IRGC announced, referring to the attacks as successful.

Ryabkov asks: "What is this, if not an act of aggression?" The airfield may be the source of drones that have recently threatened US troops.

Moscow has condemned the USA downing of the Syrian government fighter jet after it dropped bombs nears US partner forces.

"I think we're getting closer and closer to open conflict with Iran and Russian Federation, and the American public needs to know that we're moving very fast toward what could be another war inside the Middle East", Murphy said.

"The chance for a catastrophic error is higher now than ever before in the six-year-old civil war", US -based intelligence advisory firm The Soufan Group noted Tuesday. Clashes between the Kurdish-led SDF and Syrian forces have been rare and some rebel groups have even accused them of coordinating on the battlefield.

The Shi'ite militias, known as Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) helped Baghdad defend the country against the Islamic State militant group when Iraqi military and police divisions deserted en masse in 2014.

The June 8 shoot-down of an Iranian drone over Syria was the first USA air-to-air engagement since February 2009.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syria's war, said government forces expanded their presence in Raqqa province by capturing from IS the town of Rasafa. Previously, it has been providing crucial support to Assad's forces. The Guard said it fired six missiles in total from Kermanshah and also from Iran's Kurdistan province into Syria's Deir el-Zour province, where IS has been trying to fortify its positions in the face of a US -led coalition onslaught.

"And I have one message for Iran - don't threaten Israel", Netanyahu said.

The Iranian missiles were launched from Kermanshah in western Iran near the border with Iraq. The extremists have been trying to fortify their positions in the Syrian city in the face of a coalition onslaught on Raqqa.

"This is probably something Washington will end up approving of, if not necessarily colluding in", he said, speaking of the Syrian government's designs on Deir el-Zour.

Iran claimed that multiple Islamic State members were killed in the attacks and that parts of a weapons depot were destroyed.