The chief of Iran's Quds force said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump should address him when threatening the Islamic Republic, the Iranian Young Journalists' Club reported.
"As a soldier, it is my duty to respond to Trump's threats ... If he wants to use the language of threat ... he should talk to me, not to the president (Hassan Rouhani)," Major-General Qassem Soleimani was quoted as saying in the central city of Hamedan.
Iran has dismissed a warning from Trump that Tehran risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have suffered before” if it made threats against the United States.
Iran's Quds force chief Qassem Soleimani said on Thursday that the Red Sea was not secure with the presence of American troops in the area, Iran's Arabic-language Al Alam television reported.
"The Red Sea which was secure is no longer secure with the American presence ... (U.S. President Donald) Trump should know that we are nation of martyrdom and that we await him," Qasem Soleimani was quoted as saying.
The Red Sea is one of the most important trade routes in the world for oil tankers.