Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) strikes the gatherings of the ringleaders of the recent terror attack in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz with several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles in an area east of the Euphrates.

The IRGC’s Sepah News outlet announced the development, citing a statement by the Corps’ Public Relations Directorate-General.

According to the statement, the strike took place in early Monday by the IRGC’s Aerospace Division, killing and injuring a large number of Takfiri terrorists and ringleaders of the September 22 attack.

More than 20 people were killed in the attack, which was simultaneously claimed by the Saudi Arabia-linked al-Ahwaziya terrorist group, and the Daesh Takfiri terror outfit, which is suspected of receiving Saudi patronage.

Three of the four assailants involved in the attack were killed by Iranian security forces, and a fourth one was arrested but later died of the wounds he had sustained during a security chase.

According to a statement by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, its forces found the hideout of the terrorists involved in the attack, and arrested 22 elements in connection with the incident.

Iran has blamed the kingdom and its strongest regional ally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the attack.

Shortly after the attack, Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political adviser to Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, said the bloodbath was justified and that "attacking a military target is not a terrorist act." "Moving the battle deeper inside Iran is a declared option and will increase during the next phase,” he added.

The Monday retaliatory attack came four days after IRGC Deputy Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned Riyadh and Abu Dhabi against interfering in Tehran's domestic affairs or face retaliation.

“We will take revenge for every drop of the Ahvaz [attack]’s martyrs’ blood from the domestic and foreign elements behind this incident,” he had said, noting, “We warn the Saudi and Emirati regimes that you cannot endure sustain the blade of our vengeance.”

Following the terrorist act, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the attack in Ahvaz was the continuation of plots hatched by US stooges in the region to create insecurity in the country, adding that Iran’s intelligence services must swiftly find the accomplices of the "criminals” behind the attack and put them on trial.

The Leader said the "tragic and sorrowful" incident in Ahvaz and the killing of people by mercenary terrorists once again exposed the cruelty of the enemies of the Iranian nation.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic would give a "crushing" response to the slightest threat against the country.

On September 9, the IRCG confirmed that it has fired seven short-range missiles at a gathering of terrorist commanders in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

It said the operation came following "wicked actions" taken by terrorist groups affiliated with the "global arrogance" from the Kurdistan region against Iran's border areas in the previous months.

Last June, the Corps targeted the gatherings of the Takfiri terror group of Daesh in the western Syrian province of Dayr al-Zawr, killing at least 65 Daesh terrorists, including several high-ranking intelligence commanders.

(Source: press TV)