President Rouhani makes veiled reference to Lockerbie bombing as photos show Soleimani’s funeral

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was today accused of threatening America with another Lockerbie after he tweeted a veiled reference to the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people.

Rouhani tweeted that America should ‘never threaten Iran’ after warning the US should ‘remember the number 290’ in reference to an incident when the US Navy accidentally shot down an Iranian passenger jet, killing 290.  

Some Middle East experts have taken this as a veiled reference to the Lockerbie terrorist attack, which came months after the downing of Iranian flight 655.

Libya has always been blamed for the Lockerbie bombing, and one of their intelligence agents was jailed in Scotland for it, but Western spies believe Tehran played a role in the attack and executed it in revenge for the downing of the Iranian passenger jet. 

Rouhani was responding to a tweet from Donald Trump in which the US president threatened to strike 52 sites in Iran if Tehran retaliated against Washington following the assassination of Major-General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad airport on Friday.

Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, today amid a mass processional for the funeral of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad on Friday

The funeral for Soleimani drew a crowd said by police to be in the millions in the Iranian capital (above), filling thoroughfares and side streets as far as the eye could see

The funeral for Soleimani drew a crowd said by police to be in the millions in the Iranian capital (above), filling thoroughfares and side streets as far as the eye could see

Crowds walking along the Azadi Street during the funeral of elite Iranian general Soleimani in Tehran today

Crowds walking along the Azadi Street during the funeral of elite Iranian general Soleimani in Tehran today

Mourners gather in Tehran to pay their respects to a military commander who was hailed as a hero by many Iranians. Pictured (above) is an aerial view of thousands of mourners gather in the capital today

Mourners gather in Tehran to pay their respects to a military commander who was hailed as a hero by many Iranians. Pictured (above) is an aerial view of thousands of mourners gather in the capital today 

He warned that the US should ‘remember the number 290’, and with a hashtag of the Iran Air flight which was downed six months before 270 people were killed when a bomb was detonated on a Pan Am plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. 

‘Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655,’ Rouhani tweeted today, referring to the 1988 shooting down of an Iranian airline by a US warship in which 290 were killed. 

‘Never threaten the Iranian nation’, Rouhani added in the same post.   

Iran Air flight 655 jet was due to travel from from Tehran to Dubai in July 1988, but was shot down over Iranian territorial waters over the Persian Gulf, killing all on board.

A guided cruise missile fried from the USS Vincennes shot down the jet, believing the Airbus was a fighter jet, the US government said at the time.

Months later, in December the same year, the Pan Am 103 jet travelling from Frankfurt to Detroit was brought downed over Lockerbie, killing all 243 passengers and 17 crew.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (centre) leading a prayer as President Hassan Rouhani (fifth right) perform the prayer over the caskets of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Tehran University today

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (centre) leading a prayer as President Hassan Rouhani (fifth right) perform the prayer over the caskets of slain Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Tehran University today

When Pan Am flight 103 was downed over Lockerbie in December 1988, 270 people were killed. The bombing was blamed on Libya, but many in the intelligence community believe Iran was behind the attack

When Pan Am flight 103 was downed over Lockerbie in December 1988, 270 people were killed. The bombing was blamed on Libya, but many in the intelligence community believe Iran was behind the attack 

In a tweet directed at President Trump, President Rouhani threatened the US in a reference to the 290 victims (pictured above) of a US Navy missile attack on an Iranian passenger jet in 1988

In a tweet directed at President Trump, President Rouhani threatened the US in a reference to the 290 victims (pictured above) of a US Navy missile attack on an Iranian passenger jet in 1988

Mourners surround a truck carrying the flag draped coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades in the holy city of Qom south of the capital Tehran today

Mourners surround a truck carrying the flag draped coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades in the holy city of Qom south of the capital Tehran today 

President Hassan Rouhani, responding to President Trump's threat to attack 52 Iranian targets, warned the US about the 'number 290', a reference to the 290 people killed when an Iran Air passenger flight was downed in 1988

President Hassan Rouhani, responding to President Trump’s threat to attack 52 Iranian targets, warned the US about the ‘number 290’, a reference to the 290 people killed when an Iran Air passenger flight was downed in 1988 

Although Libya was officially blamed for the Lockerbie bombing, most intelligence experts believe the order came from Tehran. 

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, BBC world affairs editor John Simpson, said many in the US and UK intelligence believe Iran was behind the bombing. 

He wrote: ‘Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya got the blame, but many people in the American and British intelligence community believe that Iran gave the original instructions for the attack, to avenge the shooting down of the Airbus.’

Fatima Alasrar, an Middle East analyst from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, linked Rouhani’s tweet with the Lockerbie disaster. 

She tweeted: ‘Rouhani is basically reminding @realDonaldTrump of the #Iranian Air Flight 655 carrying 290 passengers which was downed by a US navy warship the Vincennes in 1988. Though it was deemed a human error, Tehran worked covertly to exact its revenge. How? #Lockerbie.’

Alasrar also claimed Rouhani’s tweet effectively saw him admit the Islamic Republic’s role in the 1988 attack.

She added: ‘Boeing 747 airline Pan Am exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and was assumed to be an operation conducted by the #Lybians when it was #Iran who orchestrated the downing of the plane and paid the Libyans to do it. After years of denying, Rouhani just admitted to it!’

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded Tehran today to pay their respects to the slain general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike.

Satellite images show the centre of the Iranian capital filled with people as his coffin was paraded through the streets.

Middle East analyst Fatima Alasrar said President Rouhani was making a veiled threat to America using the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. She also claimed the Iranian leader's tweet was effectively an admission to being behind the attack, something Tehran has always denied

Middle East analyst Fatima Alasrar said President Rouhani was making a veiled threat to America using the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. She also claimed the Iranian leader’s tweet was effectively an admission to being behind the attack, something Tehran has always denied 

Iran Air flight 655 jet was due to travel from from Tehran to Dubai in July 1988, but was shot down over Iranian territorial waters over the Persian Gulf

Iran Air flight 655 jet was due to travel from from Tehran to Dubai in July 1988, but was shot down over Iranian territorial waters over the Persian Gulf

Newly appointed as Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant General and Commander of the Quds Force Esmail Ghaani weeping as he prays over the coffin of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant General and Commander of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani and of other victims during their funeral ceremony in Tehran today

Newly appointed as Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant General and Commander of the Quds Force Esmail Ghaani weeping as he prays over the coffin of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant General and Commander of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani and of other victims during their funeral ceremony in Tehran today

Foreign Office enters ‘crisis mode’ and reduces staff at Iranian and Iraqi embassies to minimum level

The British Foreign Office has entered ‘crisis mode’ and has reduced staff at its embassies in Iran and Iraq over security fears.

Employees at the UK embassies have reportedly been reduced to a minimum level as tensions between Iran and the US continue to escalate.

Staff working on the tense situation are operating out of a crisis centre at Foreign Office headquarters, according to Sky News.

A Whitehall source said, ‘we are going into crisis mode’, describing the response for now as being, ‘pretty light touch’.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept over the coffin of Soleimani as lead prayers for the leader of the country’s elite Quds Force. 

Speaking to the wailing crowds which stretched as far as the eye could see, Soleimani’s daughter Zeinab directly threatened an attack on US forces in the region. 

In response to the airstrike that killed Soleimani, Iran vowed ‘severe revenge’ and yesterday abandoned the remaining limits on its uranium enrichment set by the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US pulled out of two years ago.  

Trump threatened a ‘disproportionate response’ in targeting Iranian cultural sites and said his administration had identified 52 sites – a reference to the number of US nationals he says Iran is responsible for killing. 

Some mourners chanted ‘Death to America’ and burned US and Israeli flags as the coffins of Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who also died in the drone strike were passed over their heads.  

Iranian state TV put the crowd size at ‘millions,’ although that number could not be verified. 

General Esmail Ghaani, Soleimani’s successor as commander of the Quds Force, the elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards charged with overseas operations, promised to ‘continue martyr Soleimani’s cause as firmly as before with the help of God, and in return for his martyrdom we aim to rid the region of America.

‘God the Almighty has promised to take martyr Soleimani’s revenge,’ he told state television. ‘Certainly, actions will be taken.’

Other political and military leaders have made similar, unspecific threats. Iran, which lies at the mouth of the key Gulf oil shipping route, has a range of proxy forces in the region through which it could act.

The crowd in Tehran, which state media said numbered in the millions, recalled the masses that gathered in 1989 for the funeral of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The United States on Monday warned its citizens in Israel and the Palestinian territories to be vigilant, citing the risk of rocket fire.  

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept over the remains of Qassem Soleimani as thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran for the second day of the general's funeral

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept over the remains of Qassem Soleimani as thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran for the second day of the general’s funeral

Iranian mourners seen (above) taking part in a funeral procession in Tehran for slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani

Iranian mourners seen (above) taking part in a funeral procession in Tehran for slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani

The Azadi (freedom) tower is seen (above) in the foreground in Tehran today as thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral of slain general Soleimani

The Azadi (freedom) tower is seen (above) in the foreground in Tehran today as thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral of slain general Soleimani

As a US ally against Iran, Israel is concerned about possible rocket attacks from Gaza, ruled by Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamists, or major Iran proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Soleimani was a national hero in Iran – even to many who do not consider themselves supporters of the clerical leadership.

Aerial footage showed people, many clad in black, packing boulevards and side streets.

Iran’s demand for U.S. forces to withdraw from the region gained traction on Sunday when Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution calling for all foreign troops to leave the country.

Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Abdel Abdul Mahdi told the US ambassador to Baghdad on Monday that both nations needed implement the resolution, the premier’s office said in a statement. It did not give a timeline.

The United States has about 5,000 troops in Iraq. Trump said US forces would not leave unless Iraq paid for an American base Washington built in the country. 

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