TEHRAN - The Iranian first vice president announced on his official Twitter account on Wednesday that the IRGC airspace force’s missile attacks on the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq was a crushing and also a deterrent one. 

Es’haq Jahangir attached Iran’s flag to his Twitter and wrote: “The first slap was strong, crushing and of course warning and deterrent.”

The IRGC on Wednesday targeted the Ain al-Assad air base in western Iraq which houses U.S. troops.

The attack on the major air base came after Iran pledged to retaliate against the U.S. for assassinating the top anti-terror commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

According to Tasnim, tens of surface-to-surface missiles were fired at the strategic airbase but the exact number is not known yet. 

The missile attacks were confirmed by the Pentagon. 

The IRGC added that it would release more details about the strike.

The strike comes as no surprise since Iran had vowed to take a “harsh revenge”.

Sirens were reportedly heard and American helicopters flew over the airbase and the total alert was activated.

U.S. President Donald Trump was being briefed about the retaliatory strikes.

"We are aware of the reports of attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team," White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.

The Pentagon claimed that it would take necessary measures to protect the U.S. military forces amid heightened tensions in the region.

"We are working on initial battle damage assessments," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in statement.

"At approximately 5.30 pm (2230 GMT) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq," Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

Iraq’s anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), better known as Hashd al-Sha'abi, announced the start of Crushing Response Operation to the United States.

The White House was preparing for an address to the U.S. nation by Trump, the commander in chief, but it was announced later that the speech has been called off.

MJ/PA