© Official Khamenei website/Handout via ReutersA funeral procession for General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
A massive funeral procession occupied the streets of Iran's capital as huge crowds of people - including the military's top brass - came to pay tribute to the deceased Quds Force commander and deputy chief of Iraq's Shia militia.
The remains of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force who was killed in a US air strike, was flown to Tehran after a day of funeral processions in Ahvaz and Mashhad. Bodies of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and other "martyrs" who died alongside Soleimani in an American drone strike, also arrived in the city.
On Sunday morning, a sea of people dressed in black poured onto the streets of the capital, with
state media putting the number of mourners at "millions," although the number has yet to be verified.
Later in the day, funeral prayers were conducted by the sitting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the unfinished grand mosque of Tehran, named after Ayatollah Khomeini. Khamenei's voice was sobbing as he recited verses from the Koran together with President Hassan Rouhani and top officials.
Esmail Qaani, who succeeded Soleimani as the commander of the Quds Force, was also seen choking back tears as he knelt before Soleimani's coffin which had been draped in the national flag.
© Official Khamenei website/ReutersEsmail Qaani prays at Qassem Soleimani's coffin
Men and women of all ages were also filmed crying while others were seen holding pictures of the late commander. Mourners passed his coffin over their heads, with numerous
"death to America" and
"down with USA" chants heard in the crowds.
Soleimani's daughter Zeinab joined the cries of vengeance, telling the crowds: "Crazy [Donald] Trump, don't think that everything is over with my father's martyrdom." She said that a "dark day" awaits the US and Israel after the death of her father. Monday's procession saw a number of American and Israeli flags burned by furious mourners.
© Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANAIranians burn American and Israeli flags during the funeral procession for Soleimani
Some in Iran's leadership have used the most remarkable pictures from the ceremony to send a bold message to Donald Trump who called Soleimani Iran's "terrorist leader."
"Have you EVER seen such a sea of humanity in your life?" asked Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, adding that the "end of malign US presence in West Asia has begun."
Following Monday's procession, the general's remains will be taken to Qom, one of the holiest cities for Shia Islam, before being buried in his hometown of Kerman on Tuesday.Soleimani, a designer of Iran's clandestine and military operations overseas, is the first dignitary in modern history to have received a funeral ceremony in several cities across Iran.
The late general rose to prominence during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and was appointed chief of the Quds Force in 1998. He is also believed to have played a key role in Iran's effort to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
Comment: Iran marked its mourning of General Soleimani with threats of various sorts to Israel, the U.S., and the West in general, beginning with
his daughter:
The daughter of the slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani addressed a funeral ceremony in Iran, where she said that her father's "martyrdom" will bring a "dark day" to the US and Israel, according to Iranian state TV.
"Crazy Trump, don't think that everything is over with my father's martyrdom," Zeinab Soleimani added.
Earlier, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council and former chief of the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has warned of far-reaching repercussions from a possible US strike on the Islamic Republic.
In particular, Iran had
harsh words for Israel which it sees as the
true instigator of Soleimani's assassination as well as reconfirming that the U.S. would ultimately have to leave the Middle East:
"In response to Trump, who had said that Washington will attack Iran if it takes revenge, Rezaei said "be sure that in such a case we will completely level [Israel's port city of] Haifa and key Israeli targets", on Sunday.
Rezaei touted a "massive movement" that had taken shape in Iran in response to Soleimani's murder, pledging that Iran will be "firmly fighting the Americans" until it achieves "complete US withdrawal from the region".
"The whole world should know that that the Americans will be removed from the region soon," he pointed out. Trump Pledges 'Disproportionate' Response to Iran
His remarks come after President Donald Trump warned that the US would launch a "disproportionate" military response to Iran if it conducts a retaliatory strike against Washington.
According to POTUS, the US is "targeting" 52 Iranian military and cultural sites and will strike "very fast and very hard" if Tehran attacks Americans or US assets. Trump explained that the targets represented 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran in 1979.
An unidentified eulogist purportedly
offered an $80M bounty for Trump's head, Iran repudiates the last of its JPCOA nuclear commitments:
According to Al Arabiya, the prize was announced by an unnamed eulogist at the funeral procession for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, broadcast live on Iran's Channel One from the Iranian city of Mashhad on Sunday.
He told the crowd that if every Iranian chips in $1, the total sum would equal $80 million.
"And we would give this $80 million, on our own behalf, as a gift to anyone who brings [us] the head of the person who ordered the murder of the grand figure of our revolution," the eulogist said, referring to Soleimani.
"Anyone who brings us the head of this yellow-haired lunatic, we would give him $80million on behalf of the great Iranian nation. Chant if you agree," he added, as the crowd cheered on.
Although the proposal was aired on state television, the government stopped short of floating a similar one - which would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
[...]
The Islamic Republic on Sunday upped the ante by announcing a rollback of its remaining obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal. The country started curbing its commitments in May 2019, precisely a year after Donald Trump withdrew from the pact claiming it wasn't tough enough on Iran.
The Soleimani gambit has also backfired in Iraq, where the parliament adopted a resolution requiring the government to force the withdrawal of more than 5,000 US troops from the country.
Comment: Iran marked its mourning of General Soleimani with threats of various sorts to Israel, the U.S., and the West in general, beginning with his daughter: In particular, Iran had harsh words for Israel which it sees as the true instigator of Soleimani's assassination as well as reconfirming that the U.S. would ultimately have to leave the Middle East: An unidentified eulogist purportedly offered an $80M bounty for Trump's head, Iran repudiates the last of its JPCOA nuclear commitments: