For the first time in its involvement in Syria’s six years of civil war, Iran has launched missiles against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria.

According to a statement released by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the June 18 missile strikes hit targets in eastern Syria that Iran holds responsible for the recent IS attack in Tehran that killed 18 people and wounded 50. The IRGC statement said that the strikes targeted the terrorist group's gathering centers and bomb-making factories. The missiles were launched from IRGC bases in Iran's western provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan.

Tasnim News Agency reported that the city of Deir ez-Zor was targeted specifically because many of the IS fighters had fled there after suffering setbacks in other parts of Syria and in Mosul, Iraq, where Iraqi forces are forcing the group to retreat. Comments by the IRGC and Iranian officials have led many to believe that the move was not only about taking out those Iran blames for the Tehran attack.

The IRGC wrote that the attack “was a message” and a “warning” to “takfiri terrorists, their regional supporters and their supporters outside of the region.” Former Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who is believed to be close to the IRGC, tweeted that the move was a “soft warning.” Abdollahian is now an adviser to parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei, who is now secretary of the Expediency Council, tweeted, “There are bigger strikes upcoming. The supporters of terrorists should understand the strength of Iran.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, “Iran’s missile capability protects its citizens in lawful self-defense & advances common global fight to eradicate [IS] & extremist terror.”