Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said Iran's missile strikes on two US bases in Iraq in retaliation for assassination of IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani triggered vast operations to expel American troops from the region, reports Fars.

"The missile strikes on one of the United States' most important bases within the framework of martyr Soleimani operation was the start of big operations which will continue in the entire region," General Hajizadeh told reporters in Tehran on Thursday.

"We were not after killing anyone although tens of US troops have likely been killed and wounded and were transfered to Israel and Jordan on 9 sorties of C-130 flights," he added, noting that had Iran intended to kill the American forces, it could have planned high casualty operations to kill 500 US military men in the first step and 4,000 to 5,000 others in the second and third phases within 48 hours.

General Hajizadeh said that 13 missiles were fired at the US bases on Tuesday, adding that Iran was ready to fire hundreds of missiles in the first hours and had prepared thousands of missiles for possible 3-day to week-long clashes between the two sides.

He underlined that the blood of Iranian martyrs is of high value and they cannot be compensated by hitting their bases, downing their fighter jets or even killing Trump, "since the main revenge as stated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is expelling the US from the region completely".