A senior commander in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said Tehran will be patient in setting the right time and place for its response against Washington�s assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani.

We will set up a plan, patiently, to respond to this terrorist act in a crushing and powerful manner, said Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi on Saturday.

We are the ones who set the time and place of our reciprocal response, he said.

The IRGC commander said Tehran openly announces that it will defend the axis of resistance with all its might.

He added that Iran�s response to the United States will incorporate offensive strategies beyond defense measures.

The remarks come after Soleimani, leading the Quds Force of the IRGC, was assassinated in American airstrikes in Baghdad early on Friday.

The attack also led to the death of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq�s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has vowed harsh revenge for the perpetrators of the attack.

Speaking on Saturday, Shekarchi said the assassination removed the mask off the face of Washington and its support for Daesh terrorists which have been largely defeated due to anti-terrorist forces led by Soleimani and al-Muhandis.

The IRGC commander added that the resistance against US aggression will not be weakened by the assassinations of the commanders as their thought has spread among the people of the region.