Trump: Any Iranian attack will be met with a thousand-fold response

US President Donald Trump, reacting to reports that the Islamic Republic was planning to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa, said: "Any Iranian attack on the United States, in any form, will be met with an attack on Iran a thousand times greater."

The US President wrote on his Twitter page: "According to media reports, Iran may be planning an assassination or other attack against the United States in revenge for the killing of terrorist leader Soleimani."

According to Donald Trump, the US decision to kill Qassem Soleimani was made because of his actions in planning an attack to kill American forces and the death and suffering he had caused over many years.

The American publication Politico wrote on Monday that US government officials, citing intelligence reports, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is plotting to kill Lana Marks, the US ambassador to South Africa.

According to Politico, this action was designed as revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, and as an American official told Politico, the Islamic Republic's embassy in Pretoria also played a role in this plot.

American officials have told Politico that they have been aware of the Islamic Republic of Iran's threat against Lana Marks, the US ambassador to South Africa, since last spring.

South Africa's Department of Homeland Security also responded to the report, with spokesperson Mawa Scott saying that "we are engaging with all relevant partners, both domestically and internationally, to ensure the safety of the US ambassador."

He added that the nature of the allegation and the threat associated with it is such that the South African Homeland Security Agency cannot provide further details at this time.

Meanwhile, Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rejected the Politico report, calling it "anti-Iranian accusations and lies."

However, he said that the Islamic Republic "neither forgives nor forgets" the killing of Qassem Soleimani and will "continue to pursue international legal action on this matter at all levels."

After the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of the Kataib Hezbollah group, in a US drone strike, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, said that "severe revenge" awaits those who carried out this act.

After that, the Revolutionary Guard launched a missile attack on a US military base in Iraq, which did not cause "serious casualties" due to America's prior knowledge and preparation. However, on the morning of the missile attack, two defensive missiles were also fired at a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board.

On Tuesday, July 21, during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Ali Khamenei once again referred to the killing of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, saying that the Islamic Republic "will never forget this issue and will definitely strike back at the Americans."

The US government has previously warned that any retaliatory action by Iran will result in a very strong military response from the country.

Source: Radio Farda