The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) threatened US President Donald Trump of targeting everyone who had a role in the killing of former commander of al-Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani.
IRGC Commander Hossein Salami vowed that revenge for Soleimani's killing would be "decisive, serious and real."
In January, Soleimani, the most influential person in IRGC's extraterritorial operations, was killed along Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US drone strike, approved by Trump, in Baghdad.
“We took out the world's number one terrorist and the mass murderer of American troops and many, many troops and many people all over the world. Qasem Soleimani is dead. He's dead. Bad guy. Bad guy. Very bad guy,” Trump said following Soleimani’s killing.
Earlier this week, Trump warned that Washington would respond harshly to any Iranian attempts to take revenge for Soleimani, tweeting: “If they hit us in any way, any form, written instructions already done, we’re going to hit them 1,000 times harder.”
Trump's warning came in response to a report that Iran was plotting to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa in retaliation.
Salami downplayed Trump's warning saying the US President threatens a harder response, while his country is struggling with domestic problems.
The IRCG's website quoted Salami as saying, “Mr. Trump! Our revenge for the martyrdom of our great general is obvious, serious, and real,” AFP reported.
The commander said that any revenge for Soleimani would be taken in an honorable, fair and just manner, asserting that they would “hit those who had direct and indirect roles," Salami noted.
"You should know that everybody who had a role in the event will be hit, and this is a serious message. We do prove everything in practice.”
“If a hair is missing from an Iranian, we will burn all of your hair. These threats are serious. We won't do verbal fights. We will leave everything to the field of action. We will go on, with confidence and strength,” stressed Salami.
In January, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack targeting two Iraqi bases housing US forces, in response to the killing of Soleimani, without causing any causalities.
CNN reported a senior Iraqi source at the time that the US forces were aware of the attack in advance and took the necessary measures.
Salami also commented on the US attempts to extend the UN embargo on Iranian weapons, saying that “even if the [sanctions] snapback is performed, it will fire blank shots.”
Earlier this week, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani downplayed the ineffectiveness of the US move.
