IRAN has sent a chilling message to the world saying they are "not afraid of war" as the US prepares to retaliate to recent attacks.
The threat came after US President Joe Biden is said to be organising revenge strikes against Iran-backed militia as fears grow over an open war in the Middle East.
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Maj Gen Hossein Salami vowed today that his country is not afraid of war with the US and that they will respond to any threat against them.
The IRGC commander-in-chief said: “We hear some threats from American officials about targeting Iran. We tell them that you tested us and we know each other.
"We do not leave any threat unanswered, and we do not look for war, but we are not afraid of it. This is the well-known truth.”
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The Pentagon is thought to be weighing up their options on how to respond to Iran-backed groups after they killed three US servicemen in a drone attack in Jordan.
And US President Joe Biden announced he has chosen his target already.
Biden is yet to elaborate on his decision to punish Iran-backed militias but is determined to avoid triggering a wider war.
Following consultations with top advisers at the White House, the president replied "yes" to reporters when asked if he had decided on how to respond to Sunday's attack.
He added: "I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I'm looking for."
The worrying back and forth between Iran and the US comes after Iran raged against America when they were blamed for the deaths.
Iran has denied any direct involvement in Sunday's attack but they have warned that any response on it's territory is crossing a red line that will see them retaliate.
Tehran has also claimed that if an attack hits anywhere on Iranian soil, they will hit back at US assets in the Middle East immediately.
Both nations have reiterated that they're not looking to spark an open war, but any wrong move could drag the two nations into a direct conflict.
Joe Biden was considering blitzing naval targets following the deaths of Sgt William Jerome Rivers, 46, Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, recently.
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It marked the first US deaths by enemy fire since the start of the Israel-Hamas war - and sparked a major escalation in the crisis.
Dozens more were also injured in the strike near the Syrian border, on January 28.
Still yet to respond to the devastating attacks, a White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said a "tiered approach" may be taken.
He told reporters: "It's fair for you to expect that we will respond in an appropriate fashion.
"It is very possible that what you'll see is a tiered approach here, not just a single action, but essentially multiple actions.
"The president will do what he has to do to protect our troops and our facilities and to look after our national security."
The president will do what he has to do to protect our troops and our facilities and to look after our national security
John Kirby
President Biden has a number of options to mull over, including retaliatory strikes on Iran-allied bases and commanders.
The US could also target senior commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iraq or Syria.
Terrorist-led group Kata'ib Hezbollah, an armed faction of the Islamic Resistance, announced an immediate "suspension" of military operations against the US in both Syria and Iraq in the past few days.
The decision was made to avoid "embarrassment" for the Iraqi government after the Pentagon said Sunday's attack bore the "footprints" of the Iraq-based terror group.
But Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have declared their plan to continue targeting US and British warships in the Red Sea in "self defence" as they continue to support Hamas fighters in Gaza.
The group’s military spokesperson made the announcement after missiles were fired at US warship USS Gravely, reports Times Of Israel.
Britain is preparing to send an aircraft carrier to the Red Sea to blast Houthi targets in Yemen with F-35 Lightning jets to try and warn them against any further attacks.
Defence minister James Heappey gave a “whopping great clue” that one of the Navy’s two carriers would get orders to steam into battle.
