An Iranian semi-official news agency says that a top commander in the country's Revolutionary Guard force has threatened to kill "dozens" of American military commanders, should the U.S. kill any one of theirs.

"You also should not forget that American commanders have plenty of presence and travel in the region. If you kill any of us, we will kill dozens of you," Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guards' aerospace division, was quoted by Fars agency on Tuesday as saying.

Earlier last week several American neoconservatives, including retired U.S. Army general Jack Keane, urged the Obama administration to use covert action against Iran and target members of the Quds Force, the Guard's special foreign actions unit.