Tens of thousands mourn as Soleimani's body returns to Iran

Tens of thousands of mourners clad in black have filled the streets of the Iranian city of Ahvaz to pay their respects to Qassem Soleimani, the countrys most powerful and revered military commander who was assassinated by a US airstrike in Iraq. Soleimanis body was flown to the southwestern city early on Sunday, two days after his killing triggered a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Several others were also killed in Fridays strike on a convoy at Baghdad airport, including the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. In live footage aired on Sunday on Iranian state TV, tens of thousands of mourners marched through Ahvaz holding up portraits of Soleimani, seen as a hero for his role in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and for spearheading Irans Middle East operations as chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corpss (IRGC) overseas forces. The footage showed crowds thronging Mollavi Square with flags in green, white and red - depicting the blood of martyrs - men and women weeping as they beat their chests to the sound of chants. Authorities plan to take Soleimanis body to the holy city of Mashhad later on Sunday, as well as Tehran and the holy city of Qom on Monday, for public mourning processions, then to his hometown of Kerman for burial on Tuesday. Al Jazeeras Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Mashhad, said mourners had begun gathering at the Imam Reza shrine where Soleimanis coffin would later be displayed. He is highly revered and loved. Many people say they cant believe hes gone. The whole country is in mourning, Jabbari said. Aside from the grief... there is a lot of anger and frustration. Iranians want their government and their military to respond. They want revenge. Trump threatens to hit 52 Iranian sites The assassination of Soleimani marks the most significant escalation in tensions between the US and Iran in recent years. The friction is rooted in the 2018 US decision to pull out of a nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers. The landmark accord is likely to further unravel as Tehran is expected to announce as early as Sunday that it will take another step away from it in the wake of Washingtons withdrawal and reimposition of punishing sanctions. Following Soleimanis assassination, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of harsh revenge as he called for three days of national mourning while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehrans response to the killing would be long and drawn out. Though it is unclear how or when Iran may respond, any retaliation is likely to come after the mourning period ends. US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites very fast and very hard if Iran retaliated and attacked US citizens or assets. Meanwhile, the US has dispatched another 3,000 troops to Kuwait, the latest in a series of deployments in the region in recent months. In Iraq, where three days of mourning have also been declared, security forces were on high alert, according to Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid. Reporting from Baghdad, Bin Javaid said the burial of al-Muhandis would take place in the southern city of Najaf. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Iraqis marched on Saturday in several cities to mourn al-Muhandis and Soleimani. In the evening, a rocket fell inside Baghdads heavily-fortified Green Zone near the US embassy, another hit the nearby Jadriya neighbourhood and two more were fired at the Balad air base north of the capital, but no one was killed, the Iraqi military said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Al Jazeera

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Tens of thousands mourn as Soleimani's body returns to Iran