Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a public address on Wednesday that "we slapped [the Americans] on the face last night" with a missile strike but that military action was not enough.
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 Iran's most influential military commander, Qassem Soleimani.
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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.
"Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region," Khamenei said in a televised speech, ruling out any resumption of talks with Washington about a 2015 nuclear deal.
Khamenei also said the US was targeting the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon in a bid to help Israel.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Washington might have "cut off the arm" of Iran with Soleimani's assassination, but America's "leg" in the region would be cut off in response.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that his country "does not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."
"Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting [the] base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens and senior officials were launched," he said.
Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched.
We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 8, 2020
Any US retaliation to Iran's missile attacks on American targets in Iraq could lead to an all-out war in the Middle East, an adviser to Rouhani tweeted on Wednesday.
"Any adverse military action by the US will be met with an all out war across the region. The Saudis, however, could take a different path - they could have total peace!" Hessameddin Ashena said in a statement on Twitter.
Tehran and Riyadh have been involved in proxy wars across the region for decades, from Iraq to Syria and Yemen. Iran has repeatedly urged its regional rival Saudi Arabia to improve ties with Tehran.
Also on Wednesday, Iran's Information and Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said US forces should leave the region.
Get the hell out of our region!#HardRevenge🇮🇷🇮🇶
— MJ Azari Jahromi (@azarijahromi) January 8, 2020
"Get the hell out of our region," Azari-Jahromi tweeted.
