TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday that Iran’s main response to assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani will be removal of the U.S. forces from the region.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran gave a proper response, however, the main action will be removal of the United States from the region,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.

Zarif was referring to Iranian missile strikes on two U.S. military bases in Iraq on Wednesday morning in retaliation to the assassination of General Soleimani.

He said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran must have given a military response to the United States’ action and showed that this will not be the end. The end will be removal of the United States which does not require military action.”

“There is no appropriate response to martyrdom of General Soleimani. This action was taken against their military base which is not legitimate after the Iraqi parliament’s approval,” he said.

In an extraordinary session on Sunday, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution requiring the government to order the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Zarif also held separate phone conversations with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, and also Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on Wednesday to discuss regional developments.

NA/PA