Al-Monitor - The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has responded to the Sept. 22 terrorist attack in the southwestern city of Ahvaz � which both the Islamic State (IS) and Arab separatists claimed � by using missiles and, for the first time outside of its borders, armed drones against targets in Syria.

Iran�s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi said after the missile attack, �Any action or movement from the military or political segments is not without a message and certainly has special messages.� He continued, �What can be stated clearly is Iran�s serious determination for countering centers of terrorism, a determination that we saw this morning from the forces of the IRGC.�

Ghassemi did not elaborate on what the message was. The IRGC�s Aerospace Force commander, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said after the missile launch, �The national security of Iran is our red line, and we will not compromise on this.� He added that the use of missiles and armed drones was meant to be �a lesson to not support terrorists and they should be scared of this situation.� Paraphrasing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hajizadeh said, �If they hit us once, we�ll hit them twice.�

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