'We'll see who will receive 52 target strikes,' Iran warns

Tehran has increased its tit-for-tat threats with the US as anger rises over the death of General Qasem Soleimani.

2 min read

05 January, 2020

Iran said they will not let the US get away with its threats [Getty]

Iran's army chief issued a stern warning in response to US President Donald Trump's threat to strike 52 targets in Iran on Sunday.

"We will eventually see who will receive strikes on 52 targets", Iran's army chief, Major General Abdul Rahim Mousavi said, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

The stern warning came just hours after Trump threatened to bomb 52 cultural and heritage sites in Iran if the Islamic Republic retaliates to the killing of Soleimani by attacking Americans.

Iranian senior ministers also responded to Trump's threat, saying the attacks would be a "war crime" and comparing the United States President to Hitler and Genghis Khan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Sunday morning that the Trump administration had already "committed grave breaches of (international) law" and that "targeting cultural sites is a war crime".

His colleague, the Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi replied to Trump's tweets shortly after, saying that "like ISIS, like Hitler, like Genghis (Khan)", the US President hated culture.

"Trump is a 'terrorist' in a suit'," he added.

'Death to America'

Meanwhile, members of the 290-seat Iranian parliament unanimously chanted 'Death to America' on Sunday while standing up in the middle of chamber to protest against his killing.

"Mr. Trump. This is the voice of Iranian nation. Listen." said Ali Larijani, the Iranian Parliament Speaker.

The body of Soleimani, commander of Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, arrived in Iran early on Sunday morning from the southwestern city of Ahvaz.

A big funeral is planned for him in Tehran as well as other Iranian cities on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Soleimani was killed on Friday in a US airstrike in Baghdad.

His death in Iraq further heightens tensions between Tehran and Washington after months of trading attacks and threats that put the wider Middle East on edge.

The conflict is rooted in Trump pulling out of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, an accord likely to further unravel as Tehran is expected to announce as early as Sunday its plans to break another set of limits.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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