Thousands of Iranians gathered in Qassem Soleimani’s home town today to mourn the general on the third and final day of his funeral as Tehran issued fresh vows of revenge for his death.
A sea of mourners marched through Kerman today where Soleimani will be buried later, four days after he was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
Crowds chanted ‘death to Trump’ and ‘death to Israel’ as they wailed over Soleimani’s coffin on a third day of huge national mourning for the general.
Speaking to the crowds, the leader of Iran’s revolutionary guards Hossein Salami vowed to ‘take revenge’ and set ablaze’ places supported by the United States.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who yesterday wept in public over Soleimani’s coffin, has ordered his country’s forces to retaliate directly rather than relying on its proxies in the region.
Iranian mourners gather for the burial of slain top general Qassem Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman on Tuesday
Mourners in Kerman dressed in black carried posters bearing the image of Soleimani
A group of Iranian mourners unfurl the national flag during Soleimani’s funeral procession in Kerman on Tuesday
Although there was no independent estimate, aerial footage suggested a turnout of at least 1 million, and the throngs were visible on satellite images of Tehran taken Monday
In Kerman, mourners dressed in black converged on Azadi Square where Soleimani’s coffin and that of his closest aide were on display.
Schoolgirls were heard shouting ‘death to Trump’ while crowds chanted ‘death to Israel’ when Hossein Salami swore revenge on Washington.
‘The martyr Qassem Soleimani is more powerful… now that he is dead,’ the revolutionary guards leader told the sea of mourners today. ‘The enemy killed him unjustly.’
One mourner, Hemmat Dehghan, said he had travelled from the southern city of Shiraz to ‘pay respects to the great commander of the holy defence’.
‘[Soleimani] was not only loved in Kerman, or Iran, but also the whole world,’ the 56-year-old war veteran said. ‘The security of the whole world, Muslims, Shiites, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and especially Iran, all owe it to him.’
Another mourner said Soleimi’s assassination ‘boils the blood of the Iranian people’.
‘He was seen as a great man who was ready to serve his people both then in the war and now. He must certainly be avenged,’ said Sara Khaksar, an 18-year-old student.
The outpouring of grief was an unprecedented honor for a man viewed by Iranians as a national hero for his work leading the Guard´s expeditionary Quds Force
American forces are braced for retaliation and the US-led coalition against ISIS said in a statement yesterday that it was pausing its fight against the jihadists to shore up its own defences.
US bases in the region are shoring up their defences and there are also fears that Iran will harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which is critical to the world’s oil supply.
Khamenei made a rare appearance at a meeting of the Iranian National Security Council on Monday to plot Iran’s response, The New York Times reported.
In a sign of Iran’s fury, the country plans to carry out reprisals itself rather than relying on its proxies in the region as it has frequently done in the past.
Yesterday the supreme leader wept in public over Soleimani’s coffin at an outpouring of public grief in Tehran where as many as a million people turned out to mourn the general.
Authorities later brought his remains and those of the others killed in the strike to Iran’s holy city of Qom, turning out another massive crowd.
The scale of the crowds in Tehran mirrored those who turned out in 1989 for the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.
The US blames Soleimani for the killing of American troops in Iraq and accused him of plotting new attacks just before his death on Friday.
Soleimani also led forces in Syria backing President Bashar Assad in a long war, and backed Iranian proxies in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.
Soleimani was killed outside Baghdad airport Friday in a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump, ratcheting up tensions with arch-enemy Iran which has vowed ‘severe revenge’
Soleimani’s death already has pushed Tehran to abandon the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as his successor and others vow to take revenge.
In Baghdad, the Iraqi parliament has called for the expulsion of all American troops from Iraqi soil, something analysts fear could allow Islamic State militants to mount a comeback.
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill designating the United States military and the Pentagon as ‘terrorist organizations.’
According to reports on social media, Iranian lawmakers chanted ‘Death to America’ while voting for passage of the bill.
US officials on Monday braced for Iran to respond to the killing of its most powerful general, noting heightened military readiness in the country and preparing for a possible ‘tit-for-tat’ attempt on the life of an American military commander.
While officials say American intelligence isn’t clear on whether Iran’s latest military moves are designed to bolster Tehran´s defenses or prepare for an offensive strike, the US is continuing to reinforce its own positions in the region, including repositioning some forces.
One official said the US anticipated a ‘major’ attack of some type within the next day or two.
The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wants Iranian forces to openly and directly retaliate against US interests. Khamenei is seen above in the center standing over Soleimani’s casket in Tehran on Monday. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seen second from left
Iran’s parliament on Tuesday voted to designate the US military and the Pentagon as ‘terrorist organizations’ in response to the killing of Soleimani (seen above)
On Monday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said no decision had been made about withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Pro-Iranian factions in the Iraqi Parliament have pushed to oust American troops following Soleimani’s killing on Iraqi soil.
Esper spoke to reporters after a letter from a US Marine general circulated that seemed to suggest a withdrawal had been ordered in response to a vote by the Iraqi Parliament over the weekend.
‘There’s been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq,’ Esper said.
Soleimani’s death, which has sparked major protests, further nuclear development and new threats of violence, has raised the prospect of a wide and unpredictable conflict in the Middle East and escalated tensions between Iran and the US.
The two nations have careened from one flare-up to another since Trump began his ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran shortly after taking office.
He abrogated the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed crushing economic sanctions, both steps aimed at preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and deterring the sort of regional aggression spearheaded by Soleimani.