Iran gave US 'slap on face', calls missile strikes 'day of God': Khamenei

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a January 17 sermon that Iran's missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq this month delivered a "slap on the face" to the United States, showing the Islamic Republic had divine support. During a spike in tension, Iran launched missiles at US targets on Jan. 8 in response to a US drone strike on January 3 that killed Qassem Soleimeni, a powerful Iranian general.