A senior Iranian commander has said Iran's missile attacks on US targets in Iraq did not aim to kill American soldiers but were a "lesson" to get US troops to withdraw from the region, state television reported.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh , the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Aerospace Force, said the strikes were the start of a series of attacks across the Middle East.
Iran fired missiles on Wednesday at bases in Iraq where US troops were stationed in retaliation for the killing in a US drone attack of powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.
The actions followed months of tension that has increased steadily since Trump pulled the United States out of Iran's nuclear pact with world powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have driven down Tehran's oil exports and hammered its economy.
Hajiradeh said the "appropriate revenge" promised by Iran for the killing of Soleimani would be to expel US troops from the Middle East.
He also said Iran had hundreds of missiles at the ready and could have "at least 500 Americans killed within 48 hours".
"We had thought that the clash would continue for three days to one week. We had prepared a few thousand missiles for such circumstances," Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander Hajizadeh told the Fars news agency.
Hajizadeh also claimed the strikes killed or wounded "tens of people". The US says none were hurt.
"We were not seeking to achieve casualties by this operation. But anyway, a big number - dozens - have been killed for sure. A number were wounded for sure. The figures will come out eventually.... I advise the American people to learn a lesson from this operation and recent developments in recent days. [I would suggest to them] to put pressure on their leaders to pack up and leave this region with the lowest price. I mean, it is in their favour to pack up and leave not only Iraq, but also Afghanistan and other Arab countries voluntarily."
US Vice-President Mike Pence told media US forces are going to "remain vigilant", and they'd received intelligence that Iran was privately advising allies not to attack US targets.
Reuters / Newshub.
