Tehran’s streets were packed with black-clad mourners Monday as a sea of people turned out to pay their respects to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad last week.
Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday on the orders of President Donald Trump.Iran has allegedly offered an $80 million bounty on US President Donald Trump for the death of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani ,mirror.co.uk said in a report.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei led prayers and at one point was seen weeping.
Iran has vowed “severe revenge” for the death of Soleimani and on Sunday pulled back from the 2015 nuclear accord.
Soleimani, 62, headed Iran’s elite Quds Force, and was tasked with protecting and boosting Iran’s influence in the Middle East.
The US saw him as a terrorist, and President Trump said Soleimani was plotting “imminent” attacks on US diplomats and military personnel.
In Iran, Soleimani was hailed as a national hero and widely considered the second most powerful man in the country behind Supreme Leader Khamenei.
But not all Iranians are as distressed about the general’s death as the mourners who lined Tehran’s streets, says BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen.
Soleimani was a hardliner and a dominant force in a regime that shot dead scores of protesters at the end of 2019. He also spent vast sums building up alliances and militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria at a time when US sanctions are impoverishing many Iranians, our correspondent says.
Some people cried, while others clutched pictures of the late commander. Mourners passed Soleimani’s coffin over their heads and “death to America” chants were heard.
His daughter Zeinab Soleimani warned the US that it faced a “dark day”.
“Crazy Trump, don’t think that everything is over with my father’s martyrdom,” she said.
Soleimani has been hailed a martyr and a hero inside Iran, especially due to his work in the fight against ISIS. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s ultimate political and religious authority, was photographed praying over Soleimani’s body during the funeral ceremony alongside President Hassan Rouhani.
General Ismail Qaani — Soleimani’s longtime lieutenant and his successor as Quds leader — was seen crying over his coffin.
Sources : BBC, CNN, Mirror,Indiatoday
This is sad. In as much as we understand the importance of the fight against terrorism, this should not come at the expense of other nations’ sovereignty. We as zambian also wouldn’t take lightly if one of our generals was killed based on accusations that have not been found by any international judicial body. We need to live in harmony. We are all humans whether rich poor ugly or as handsome. We all bleed red blood. Kz
You are the only person who abhors his own bloodshed but finds it to be fun to shed other people’s blood.
You almost killed the driver of a school bus carrying children to school
State capture please watch my interview where I addressed all the silly allegations you are still raising. I believe the video is readily available on YouTube. Kz
The funeral crowd for the General a million times more than Trump inauguration ceremony…so this General was loved in his own country and by his own people… very sad and i pay tax which America uses buy bombs and kill innocent people
If indeed you’re KZ, explain what happened when you served as Deputy PS for Lusaka Province when there was a Ward by-election at Mumpanshya in which blood was shed
Very sad. Who classified the late General as a terrorist?? This action will cause great upheaval in a region that’s already unstable. Responsibility and level headedness was required before this decision was made. The downside is this tension will affect the global set up.
Mailoni brothers were local terrorists though and they met their deaths like Gen Soleimani.
The US must revisit its policy and engagement with other sovereign states. Who granted them the right to kill other people? This isn’t a war against terror but for business prospects. Bill Clinton did exactly what Donald Trump has done when faced with imminent removal from office following his impeachment. Many nations can’t speak against the US because they fear the unknown. Iran has never invaded any country but Iranians are paying for their determination. Mighty isn’t power
America has just declared war on Iran. Trump is not even going to campaign properly this year. He will keep watching his back