'Vital points of US in Iran's range': Commander

ANKARA 

The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said Iran would take number of measures in response to the killing of top commander Qasem Soleimani by a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. 

Ghulam Ali Abu Hamza said they would take the revenge of Soleimani and that Iran has identified vital U.S. targets in the region for a long time.

Hamza said there were 35 vital points of the U.S. in the region, including with Tel Aviv, within Iran's range.

According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, Hamza hinted that Iran would target the U.S. on the Strait of Hormuz saying, that the Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West, and a large number of U.S. destroyers and ships pass through the strait, Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.

Soleimani's death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a 2015 nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran. 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country's highest honor last year, vowed "severe retaliation" in response to his killing. 

Soleimani was the long-time commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, which was designated a terror group by the U.S. The group is estimated to have 20,000 members.  

* Writing by Dilara Hamit