TEHRAN — The Iranian Army has warned the United States that any new hostile move will draw a “stronger response” from the Islamic Republic.

In a statement on Wednesday after Iran attacked a U.S. military base in Iraq, the Army lauded the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for the retaliatory missile attack on the terrorist U.S. forces in Iraq, Tasnim reported.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the IRGC attacked the U.S. airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

The Army described the crushing response to the American “terrorist and criminal measure” as Iran’s inalienable right, stressing that security of the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment is the “red line” for the armed forces.

The enemy is well aware that the repetition of any crime and evil act against Iran will turn the slap in the face into “crushing steel punches”, the statement warned.

In a speech on Wednesday morning, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U.S. “received a slap in the face last night” after the IRGC missile attack, stressing that the presence of American forces in the region, which he said only causes corruption, must end.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has also warned the U.S. that any new evil act will draw Iran’s “stronger, more crushing, and broader” response.

MH/PA