A top Iranian commander said on Thursday that his country was not moving towards a war but was not afraid of any conflict, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported after U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran was behind anti-U.S. protests in Iraq.

Trump accused Iran of orchestrating demonstrations at the U.S. embassy in Iraq on Tuesday and said Tehran would be held responsible. Iran has rejected the accusation.

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'Not leading to war'

"We are not leading the country to war, but we are not afraid of any war and we tell America to speak correctly with the Iranian nation. We have the power to break them several times over and are not worried," Revolutionary Guards Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami was quoted by Tasnim as saying.

Trump had said in a tweet on Tuesday that Iran would be "held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat." He later said he did not want or foresee a war with Iran.

Iran's Army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Thursday his forces were ready to confront the "enemy."

"Our armed forces ... monitor all moves, and if anyone makes the slightest mistake, they will decisively react, and if the situation heats up, we will show our abilities to the enemy," Mousavi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday condemned U.S. attacks on Iranian-allied militias in Iraq, blaming the United States for violence in Iran's neighbor.

Iran protested on Wednesday to a Swiss envoy, who represents U.S. interests in the country, over what it called "warmongering statements" by American officials.

Iraqi protesters leave U.S. embassy

Following two days of violent protests, members and supporters of the Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi reportedly withdrew from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

The move came after group members hurled rocks, petrol bombs and smashed doors at the embassy compound on December 31 while U.S. forces stationed on the rooftops fired tear gas to disperse them.

The groups dispersed after Washington dispatched extra U.S. troops and also threatened reprisals against Tehran. Iraq's military said that the area was completely secure and the U.S. government said they had no plans to evacuate the facility.

The demonstrations broke out after the U.S. launched airstrikes against the Tehran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group, killing 25 members on December 29.

The U.S. said the "precision defensive airstrikes" were in response to a rocket attack that killed an American contractor on an Iraqi-military base.

(With input from Reuters)