Qassem Soleimani is laid to rest in his hometown as thousands line the streets after Iranian missiles slammed into US bases in Iraq
- Qassem Soleimani was laid to rest in his hometown of Kerman on Tuesday
- Thousands lined the streets as the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force was lowered into the ground
- Mourners decried his killing by US drone that the Pentagon said was because Soleimani ‘was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats’
- It was after Iranian missiles slammed into US bases in Iraq on Tuesday night
Thousands of people have lined the streets of Qassem Soleimani hometown before the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force was laid to rest.
Local Iranians flooded Kerman for the funeral procession shortly after missiles from inside the country were launched at US bases in Iraq.
Mourners decried his killing by US drone that the Pentagon said was because Soleimani ‘was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region’.
Qassem Soleimani was laid to rest in his hometown of Kerman on Tuesday
Soleimani’s burial ceremony was televised showing crowds blocking outside the mosque
Thousands lined the streets as the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force was laid to rest
Images show the coffin being moved through the streets by locals who came to the service
Images showed his casket being lowered to the ground
Calls to God were heard via the grand mosque’s speaker system as attendees were seen wiping the coffin with cloths as it moved to its intended place.
The body had been on a tour of holy Shi’ite Muslim cities of Iraq and Iran before eventually being taken to Tehran for burial in the martyr’s section of a cemetery.
But the burial was delayed after a stampede broke out Tuesday at Soleimani’s funeral in his hometown of Kerman.
At least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured as thousands thronged the procession, Iranian news reports said.
There was no information about what set off the crush in the packed streets.
Online videos showed only its aftermath: people lying apparently lifeless, their faces covered by clothing, emergency crews performing CPR on the fallen and onlookers wailing and crying out to God.
A dedication written in Arabic is seen ahead of the casket on Tuesday night
Press TV clips showed the casket being moved around
A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over one million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main avenues and side streets.
Hossein Salami, Soleimani’s successor as leader of the Revolutionary Guard, addressed a crowd of supporters gathered at the coffin in a central square in Kernan.
He vowed to avenge Soleimani, saying: ‘We tell our enemies that we will retaliate but if they take another action we will set ablaze the places that they like and are passionate about.’
On Tuesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which controls the country’s missile program, confirmed that they fired the rockets in retaliation for last week’s killing, according to state TV.
They reported the operation’s name was ‘Martyr Soleimani’ and it took place just hours after the slain general’s funeral.
Four days after the death of General Qasem Soleimani by the US military in Iraq, people across Iran’s cities mourned and demanded a harsh revenge on the United States
After the strikes, Saeed Jalili – a former Iranian nuclear negotiator and foreign minister – posted a picture of the Islamic Republic’s flag on Twitter, appearing to mimic Trump who posted an American flag following the killing of Soleimani and others in the drone strike in Baghdad.
The strikes by Iran were a major escalation of tensions that have been rising steadily across the Mideast following months of threats and attacks after Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Soleimani’s killing and Iran’s missile strikes also marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly rather than through proxies in the region.
The U.S. continued to reinforce its own positions in the region and warned of an unspecified threat to shipping from Iran in the region’s waterways, crucial routes for global energy supplies.