Iranian leaders pledged on Wednesday to end the US presence in the region, describing missile attacks on US targets in Iraq as “self-defense.”
"We slapped them (Americans) on the face last night" with a missile strike “but military action is not enough,” Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address to the nation.
He spoke hours after the strike at military bases in Iraq used by US forces. The strike was in retaliation for the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top military commander, in Baghdad.
Khamenei added that the “corrupt presence of the US in the region should come to an end," saying it has caused war, division, and destruction.
Iran's supreme leader described Soleimani as a "great, brave warrior" and “dear friend to us.”
Khamenei also said the US was trying to remove Lebanon' Hezbollah in its bid to help Israel.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Washington might have "cut off the arm" of Soleimani but America's "leg" in the region would be cut off in response.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called Tuesday night's ballistic missile attack “proportionate measures in self-defense.”
Zarif also tweeted, “’We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
Zarif told state TV that Washington's assessment to retaliate should not be based on "illusions.”
