Amir Hatami
Amir HatamiReuters

US President Donald Trump's recent threat of a possible military attack on Iran is nothing but a "bluff," Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Thursday.

The threat seems more like a "bluff to cover their chagrin" for their failed policies, Hatami said, according to the Xinhua news agency.

He was responding to Trump’s comment on Monday when he said that if Iran does something, they will be hit as they have never been hit before.

Hatami warned the US against making the mistake of taking measures against Iran.

"If they make a mistake, they will receive a response that will make them more ashamed than the previous measures which brought about humiliation to them," he said.

The Iranian armed forces stand fully ready to protect the nation and the country's borders, and will give "a crushing response" to any threats or excessive demands, he claimed.

Tensions between the US and Iran have increased since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal last May. He later imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran, the latest of which went into effect in November of 2018.

Iran, in turn, has scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.

A commander in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) recently declared that US regional bases and its aircraft carriers in the Gulf are within the range of Iranian missiles and warned, “Our missiles will destroy their aircraft carriers if they make a mistake.”

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently urged the IRGC to prepare against the "enemies" by inventing and building modern and advanced military hardware.