Tasnim � The Iranian minister of defense advised enemies not to test the Islamic Republic�s resolve, or they will have to face the consequences similar to a recent �slap� the US received in the face when Iran launched a missile attack on an American military base in Iraq.

In an address to a gathering of Army cadets in Tehran on Thursday, Brigadier General Amir Hatami said the American commanders who were used to displaying the US� fake military power by bombarding defenseless nations and weak countries finally got a taste of Iran�s crushing missile power after the IRGC launched a missile attack on the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Iraq.

�I hope the enemies would never decide to test the Iranian nation�s resolve, because what took place (in the attack on Ain al-Assad) was only a warning and a slap in the face,� the minister added.

Highlighting the Islamic Republic�s missile power in the attack, which was carried out in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, Hatami said the enemy would have become more insolent if it had not received a response from Iran.

He further said that the Defense Ministry�s priorities are to acquire strategic arms, take the country�s strategic depth into account, and develop strategic ideas for �assuring defense.�

The Iranian Defense Ministry has made such remarkable progress in the sphere of ground, aerial and naval combat, missile industry, air defense, and electronic warfare that no aggressor dares to take action against or invade Iran, he underlined.

On January 8, Iran�s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched a missile attack Ain al-Assad in Iraq�s western province of Anbar, in retaliation for the US assassination of Lt. General Soleimani.

Fifteen missiles rained down on the airbase, none of which were intercepted by the US army�s radar systems