ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran will not put limits to defending its national security and will use its missiles whenever it needs to, the Islamic Republic’s defense minister said on Wednesday following an Iranian attack on Erbil that killed four civilians.

“We do not place any restrictions in the defense of our national interests and people, and we do this with authority,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affiliated Tasnim News reported Amir Ashtiani as saying. 

The minister’s statement comes after the IRGC on Monday night directed multiple ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones at the Kurdish capital of Erbil killing four civilians including a one year old child.

Ashtiani defended Iran’s position and bragged about the country’s missile ability, claiming that they would not hesitate to use them.

“We have different types of missiles with a range of 2,000 km and with various warheads,” he said. “We use them whenever we need to, and we are a missile power in the world.”

Iran’s IRGC claimed to have targeted an Israeli Intelligence base in Erbil shortly after the attacks, however Iraqi investigations into the site of the attack proved otherwise.

“We inspected on the ground, accompanied by members of the investigation committee, the home of the businessman targeted last night in Erbil, and it became clear that the allegations about targeting a Mossad headquarters were unfounded,” Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasem al-Araji said in a tweet after leading an investigation at the site of the attack. 

Iraq on Tuesday filed a complaint to the UN Security Council about Iran’s aggression on Erbil, however Iran was still insistent on its stance.

“The anti-terrorist operations of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been carried out in accordance with the precise targeting of terrorist groups' bases and full compliance with Iran's international obligations, especially international humanitarian law,” Iran’s representative to the United Nations said in a letter to the UN Secretary General.

Foreign diplomatic missions in Iraq condemned the Iranian attack on Tuesday, labeling it as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

“The Kurdistan Regional Government is a close partner, and the United States unequivocally condemns Iran’s aggression,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet after meeting with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani in Davos.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Barzani also called on Iraq and the international community to not turn a blind eye on the Iranian attacks on the Kurdistan Region.

“We, at the Kurdistan Region, have tried all in our ability to serve our people and develop peaceful relations with neighboring countries, but these attacks, unfortunately, are without any reason, and should not remain unanswered,” he told reporters.