WASHINGTON/TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday rejected US claims that Iran plans an attack on American troops in Iraq.

"Iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to those who do" so against Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump alleged that "Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops or assets in Iraq."

Dismissing Trump's claims, Zarif said that "Iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to those who do" so against Iran, Zarif tweeted.

In January, a US airstrike killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, along with an Iraqi militia commander near Baghdad International Airport. US claimed that Soleimani was planning to carry out attacks on Americans in Iraq, which Iran rejected.

On Wednesday, Trump on warned Iran against a "sneak attack" on US forces and assets in Iraq, threatening a "very heavy price" as a consequence.

Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/or assets in Iraq. If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed 

Donald Trump, US President

"Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/or assets in Iraq. If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!" Trump said in a tweet, without providing detailed information.

Trump sent the tweet immediately after his intelligence briefing on Wednesday, according to his daily public schedule issued by the White House press office.

Iran or Iran-backed forces are plotting attacks against US forces in Iraq, US media reported, citing US intelligence.

"We've been seeing something brewing and developing pretty seriously," a US official told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Trump's warning came days after a New York Times story revealing that the Pentagon had ordered military commanders to plan for an escalated military campaign against Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq.

The US military and Iran-backed militia fell into direct conflict last month. On March 11, a rocket attack on Camp Taji killed two US soldiers and one British service member, and wounded 14 others. The US military on the following day retaliated and destroyed facilities of Kata'ib Hezbollah's (KH), a Shia militia group.

The Camp Taji was under a similar rocket attack on March 14, and three US service members were injured.

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The US government last week designated 20 individuals and companies based in Iran and Iraq, accusing them of supporting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and other Iranian-backed militias.

Commander of US Central Command Kenneth McKenzie previously said that the threat to the United States in the Middle East remains very high and that the tensions have not gone down.

The United States has enhanced its defense posture in the region. Two US aircraft carrier strike groups currently were cruising in the area, namely the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Harry S. Truman.

Washington said that the KH was responsible for numerous attacks against the United States and the US-led coalition forces in Iraq, including a rocket attack on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk (the K1 base) in late December 2019 that had killed a US civilian contractor and injured four US service members.

The tit-for-tat between the US military and the Shia militia group might lock them into a cycle of attacks and reprisals.

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The rocket attack on the K1 base led to the US airstrike against senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and the subsequent Iranian missile strike retaliation.