President Trump threatened Iran that the U.S. military is targeting 52 Iranian sites if Tehran decides to retaliate against the U.S. after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.

In a series of three tweets, President Trump wrote:

“Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”

Trump said the 52 Iranian sites represent the 52 American diplomats and citizens that were held hostage after Iranians stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. The hostages were held for 444 days from November 1979 to January 1981.

Iran indicted that it is seeking revenge and identified at least 35 targets for potential strikes including destroyers and warships in the Persian Gulf.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West, and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there,” said General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards in the southern province of Kerman. “Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago.”

“Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago … some 35 U.S. targets in the region, as well as Tel Aviv, are within our reach,” he said, according to Reuters.

On Saturday, the “red flag of revenge” was raised above the holy mosque of Jamkaran in Qom.

In a video posted by Sky News, Qassem Soleimani’s daughter was seen asking Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who will avenge her father’s death.

Three thousand U.S. soldiers were sent to the Middle East along with the deployment of hundreds of soldiers from the brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They will join the 650 others who are already deployed in the region and will stay there for about 60 days.

The Pentagon said in a statement, “As previously announced, the Immediate Response Force (IRF) brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division was alerted to prepare for deployment, and are now being deployed. The brigade will deploy to Kuwait as an appropriate and precautionary action in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities, and will assist in reconstituting the reserve.”