GENEVA — A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Sunday the US military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now represented a target, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.

The US military has sent forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East in a move US officials said was to counter "clear indications" of threats from Iran to its forces in the region.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is replacing another carrier rotated out of the Gulf last month.

"An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now it is a target and the threats have switched to opportunities," said Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' aerospace division.

"If (the Americans) make a move, we will hit them in the head," he added, according to ISNA.

Iranian navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on Sunday that American forces must exit, according to ISNA.

Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, appointed head of the Guards last month, told parliament on Sunday the United States had started a psychological war in the region, the parliamentary spokesman said.

CNN reported on Friday that the White House had passed a telephone number to the Swiss for contacting US President Donald Trump in case Iranian officials wanted to hold talks.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran represents US interests in Iran. — Reuters