A peculiar diplomatic message: why Iran fired ballistic missiles at Iraq

On the evening of January 15, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Syria and Iraq. This was a kind of diplomatic message and a threat to the international community.

About this 24 Channels said Israeli military observer David Sharp, noting that it is still unknown which missiles Iran used. It is quite possible that it was ballistics with a range of more than 1000 kilometers.

Where Iran launched missiles

It is known that Iran attacked targets in Syria controlled by anti-Assad rebels. There they destroyed the clinic. Therefore, the effectiveness of this blow is zero.

There were much more interesting targets in Iraq. One could even say in Iraqi Kurdistan, where two parties are trying to conduct their policies with varying degrees of success.

The blow was allegedly on the American consulate and American bases . But the US rejects this. And it is unlikely that Iran would do this. There was information that it flew into the house of a local businessman, where everyone died. Iran says this is Mossad headquarters. Perhaps the Mossad could have been active somewhere in Iraq in the 1960s and 70s. But there are doubts that they are there today,” Sharp explained.

So it is quite possible that the local businessman was an accidental victim. The Iranians themselves demonstrated an act of revenge because of the explosions at the ceremony marking the death of Major General Qasem Soleimani.

Why did Iran need this? They wanted to show their community that they were taking revenge for the attack on Soleimani's grave. It was painful for them. They also wanted to show their capabilities to the Americans. That's why they used missiles closer to American targets. This is a diplomatic message that they are ready to use force,” Sharp emphasized.

Iran launched missiles: briefly

• On the evening of January 15, it became known that Iran had launched ballistic missiles. There they were convinced that they had hit “spy centers” and “anti-Iranian terrorist groups.” Then journalists reported that as a result of the explosions, neither US citizens nor American facilities were harmed.
• Already on January 17, it became known that Iran had also struck Pakistan. They launched missiles and drones at the bases of the Sunni group Jaysh al-Adl in Pakistan.
• Tehran considers Jaysh al-Adl a terrorist organization.