A commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said the country would use missiles to defend itself from its "enemies".
It followed hostile rhetoric from US President Donald Trump, after he said on Twitter that Iran was "playing with fire" and announced fresh sanctions on the country.
Head of the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace unit, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, told Tasnim news agency: "We are working day and night to protect Iran's security.
"If we see smallest misstep from the enemies, our roaring missiles will fall on their heads."
Iran responded to the new US sanctions - imposed because of the test firing of a ballistic missile - by announcing another military exercise using its missile and radar systems.
The Revolutionary Guards Sepahnews website said that the aim of the military exercise in Semnan province, central Iran, was to "showcase the power of Iran's revolution and to dismiss the sanctions."
World news in pictures
World news in pictures
-
1/35 13 March 2017
US President Donald J. Trump holds up a note and drawing depicting him that was created by the child of Greg Knox of Ohio, during a meeting on healthcare in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC
EPA
-
2/35 13 March 2017
Relatives hold up placards with pictures of victims as they gather in commemoration on the first anniversary of the March 13 terror attack at the former site of the bombing in central Ankara
Getty Images
-
3/35 13 March 2017
Aaron Hernandez confers with his defence attorney Jose Baez, during his double murder trial in Boston
AP
-
4/35 12 March 2017
People celebrate Holi festival at a temple in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Rex
-
5/35 12 March 2017
A Sadhu or Hindu holy man with his face smeared with powdered colours looks on during Holi festival celebrations at Sri Laxmi Narayan Temple in Amritsar, India
EPA
-
6/35 5 March 2017
A member of the Tinstix of Dynamite aerobatics team flies in front of a wall of fire during the Australian International Airshow in Melbourne
Getty Images
-
7/35 5 March 2017
A participant stretches on the beach before the start of an annual two-mile sea swimming competition in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Reuters
-
8/35 5 March 2017
Participants jump into water during the annual two-mile sea swimming competition in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Reuters
-
9/35 5 March 2017
Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko wave to bid farewell as they depart for Thailand from Phu Bai International Airport in the central city of Hue, Vietnam
EPA
-
10/35 5 March 2017
Reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on display indoors at the International Defence Exhibition in Iraq (IQDEX) 2017
Getty Images
-
11/35 5 March 2017
A participant presents hisr vintage vehicle during the 59th International Vintage Car Rally Barcelona-Sitges, at plaza Sant Jaume in Barcelona, Spain. Some 50 vintage vehicles take part in the two-day long event, through the coastal line of Mediterranean Sea from Barcelona to Sitges
EPA
-
12/35 5 March 2017
Participants present their vintage cars during the 59th International Vintage Car Rally Barcelona-Sitges, at plaza Sant Jaume in Barcelona, Spain
EPA
-
13/35 5 March 2017
New York Governor Mario Cuomo looks around the 'Hall of Names' in the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The hall has portraits of some 600 individuals exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust of World War II
EPA
-
14/35 5 March 2017
The Chinese police officers on self balancing police vehicles patrol in Tiananmen Square before the opening of the fifth Session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China
EPA
-
15/35 5 March 2017
A general view shows the opening session of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, in Beijing's Great Hall of the People
Getty Images
-
16/35 5 March 2017
Hostesses jump as they pose for a picture during the opening of the National People's Congress in Beijing
Getty Images
-
17/35 5 March 2017
A picture taken in the Iraqi capital Bahgdad shows rocket launchers on display indoors at the International Defence Exhibition in Iraq (IQDEX) 2017
Getty Images
-
18/35 5 March 2017
A Pakistani army helicopter flies past floodlights as it patrols over The Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore, ahead of the final cricket match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi
Getty Images
-
19/35 5 March 2017
A Buddhist devotee dashes barefoot through flames during the Nagatoro Hi-Matsuri, or fire walking festival, to herald the coming of spring, at the Fudoji temple in Nagatoro town, Saitama prefecture
Getty Images
-
20/35 5 March 2017
A resident inspects their personal house belongings after a moderate earthquake hit the Surigao city, southern Philippines
Reuters
-
21/35 5 March 2017
People with portraits of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gather outside his museum in his native town of Gori, some 80 kms outside Tbilisi, on the 64th anniversary of Stalin's death. While historians blame Stalin for the deaths of millions in purges, prison camps and forced collectivization, many in Russia still praise him for leading the Soviet Union to victory over Nazi Germany in World War I
Getty Images
-
22/35 5 March 2017
Head of Ukraine's tax and customs service Roman Nasirov, who is under investigation over the suspected embezzlement and who according to several unconfirmed local media reports recently suffered a heart attack, lies inside the defendant's cage during a court hearing in Kiev, Ukraine
Reuters
-
23/35 4 March 2017
Flag bearer Jesslyn Swirka rides her horse down Harrison Avenue in Leadville, Colorado at the start of the 68th annual Leadville Ski Joring weekend competition in Leadville, Colorado. Skijoring, which has its origins as a competitive sport in Scandinavia, has been adapted over the years to include a team made up of a rider and skier who must navigate jumps, slalom gates, and the spearing of rings for points. Leadville, with an elevation of 10,152 feet (3,094 m), the highest incorporated city in North America, has been hosting skijoring competitions since 1949
Getty Images
-
24/35 4 March 2017
A rider races down Harrison Avenue while a skier navigates the course during the 68th annual Leadville Ski Joring weekend competition in Leadville, Colorado
Getty Images
-
25/35 4 March 2017
A demonstrator in opposition of US President Donald Trump sets a hat on fire during a 'People 4 Trump' rally in Berkeley, California
Reuters
-
26/35 4 March 2017
A demonstrator in support of US President Donald Trump swings a stick towards a group of counter-protesters during a 'People 4 Trump' rally in Berkeley, California
Reuters
-
27/35 4 March 2017
A bloodied supporter of US President Donald Trump is seen after a 'People 4 Trump' rally and counter-protest turned violent in Berkeley, California
Reuters
-
28/35 4 March 2017
Women take part in a performance to protest against the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa College Raul Isidro Burgos in Guerrero, in Mexico City, Mexico
Reuters
-
29/35 4 March 2017
A woman looks on as she takes part in a performance to protest against the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa College Raul Isidro Burgos in Guerrero, in Mexico City, Mexico
Reuters
-
30/35 4 March 2017
An Iraqi special forces soldier fires at a drone operated by Islamic State militants Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq
Reuters
-
31/35 4 March 2017
A man cries while carrying his daughter as he walks from Islamic State controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces soldiers during a battle in Mosul, Iraq
Reuters
-
32/35 4 March 2017
Iraqi special forces soldiers walk in a street in Mosul, Iraq
Reuters
-
33/35 4 March 2017
An Iraqi special forces soldier helps a family carry their child to cross from Islamic State controlled part of Mosul to Iraqi forces controlled part of Mosul, Iraq
Reuters
-
34/35 4 March 2017
A man looks towards a Russian helicopter as it flies over ruins in the historic city of Palmyra, Syria
Reuters
-
35/35 2 March 2017
Policemen and a passerby look at pictures of the ones killed due to alleged involvement in illegal drugs, during a protest against extra-judicial killings at an open area of a Roman Catholic Church in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines
Reuters
Iranian state news agencies reported that home-made missile systems, radars, command and control centres, and cyber warfare systems will be tested in the drill.
The country also announced sanctions of its own against the US.
Although tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said he was not considering raising the number of US forces in the Middle East to address Iran's "misbehaviour", but warned that the world would not ignore the country's activities.
As for Mr Trump's comments that "nothing is off the table" in dealing with Tehran, the commander of Iran's ground forces said that the country has been hearing such threats since its 1979 revolution.
"The defence capability and the offensive prowess of Iran's armed forces would make America or any other enemy regretful of any incursion," Ahmad Reza Pourdastan was quoted as saying by ISNA.
- More about:
- Iran
- Donald Trump
- missiles
Reuse content
