Iran taunts Trump and says plans for 'revenge' over the drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani are 'obvious, serious and real' - after reports of a plot to assassinate a US ambassador
The chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has threatened revenge on everyone who played a role in the death of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in January.
On Saturday, the Revolutionary Guard released a statement from General Hossein Salami, which featured a direct message to US President Donald Trump.
'Mr. Trump! Our revenge for martyrdom of our great general is obvious, serious and real!' the statement - posted on the Revolutionary Guard's website - read.
Earlier this week, Trump warned that Washington would harshly respond to any Iranian attempts to take revenge for the death of Soleimani.
He tweeted: 'If they hit us in any way, any form, written instructions already done we´re going to hit them 1000 times harder.'
The chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami ), has threatened revenge on everyone who played a role in the death of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in January
General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in January.
The president's warning came in response to a report that Iran was plotting to assassinate the US Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks, in retaliation for Soleimani's killing.
'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,' Trump said. 'Qasem Soleimani is dead. He's´s dead. Bad guy. Bad guy. Very bad guy.'
But in the statement put out on Saturday, Salami rejected the report of an Iranian plot to assassinate Marks, but made clear that Iran intends to avenge the general's death.
'Do you think we hit a female ambassador in return to our martyred brother?´ the general said.
We will hit those who had direct and indirect roles. You should know that everybody who had role in the event will be hit, and this is a serious message. We do prove everything in practice.'
US ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks was a fashion designer and longtime friend of Trump's who has a home in Palm Beach and is a member of Mar-a-Lago
American officials said they had been made aware of threats towards Marks, 66, since the spring but the intelligence detail has suddenly become more specific in recent weeks.
Marks was a fashion designer and is a longtime friend of Trump's who has a home in Palm Beach and is a member of Mar-a-Lago
Relations between Washington and Tehran have been tense since the Iranian revolution, and have spiraled since Trump unilaterally pulled out of a landmark international nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018.
Additionally, Washington is pushing to extend an arms embargo on Iran that starts to progressively expire in October as well as reimposing UN sanctions on the Islamic republic.
Earlier this week, Trump warned that Washington would harshly respond to any Iranian attempts to take revenge for the death of Soleimani
The Iranian navy last week said it drove off American aircraft that flew close to an area where military exercises were underway near the Strait of Hormuz.
The military said three US aircraft were detected by Iran's air force radars after they entered the country's air defense identification zone.
General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, has said that he had been expecting a 'response' from Iran over the US's presence in Iraq.
'I do not know what the nature of that response will be, but we will certainly be ready for it, should it occur,' he said.