Washington/Dubai - Iran's supreme leader
wept in grief with hundreds of thousands of mourners thronging
Tehran's streets on Monday for the funeral of military commander
Qassem Soleimani, killed by a US drone on the orders of US President Donald Trump.
As the coffins of General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia
leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who also died in Friday's attack
in Baghdad, were passed over the heads of mourners, Soleimani's
successor vowed to expel U.S. forces from the region in revenge.
The killing of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's drive to
extend its influence across the Middle East, has stoked concern
around the globe that a broader regional conflict could erupt.
Trump has listed 52 Iranian targets, including cultural
sites, that could be hit if Iran retaliates with attacks on
Americans or U.S. assets, although U.S. officials sought to play
down the president's reference to cultural targets.
Mourners attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades, who were killed in Iraq in a US drone strike on Friday, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in Tehran, Iran. Picture: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
General Esmail Ghaani, the new 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.
Mourners attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades, who were killed in Iraq in a US drone strike on Friday, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square. in Tehran, Iran. Picture: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
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.
Soleimani was a national hero in Iran - even to many who do
not consider themselves supporters of Iran's clerical rulers.
Aerial footage showed people packing thoroughfares and side
streets and chanting "Death to America!", a welcome show of
national unity for Tehran after anti-government protests in
November in which many demonstrators were killed.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets family of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in the U.S. airstrike in Iraq, at his home in Tehran. Picture: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP
INFLUENCE
Iran's demand that U.S. forces quit the region gained
traction on Sunday when Iraq's parliament backed the prime
minister's recommendation for foreign troops to be ordered out.
Iraq's rival Shi'ite leaders, including ones opposed to
Iranian influence, have united since Friday's attack to call for
the expulsion of U.S. troops, who number about 5,000, most of
them advisers.
Soleimani, widely seen as Iran's second most powerful figure
behind Khamenei, built a network of proxy forces to create a
crescent of influence stretching from Lebanon through Syria and
Iraq to Iran. Allies also include Palestinian and Yemeni groups.
Relatives of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in the U.S. airstrike in Iraq, meet Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Soleimani's home in Tehran. Picture: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP
He notably mobilised Shi'ite Muslim militia forces in Iraq
that helped to crush Islamic State, the Sunni militant group
that had seized control of swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2013-14.
Washington, however, blames Soleimani for attacks on U.S.
forces and their allies.
Prayers at Soleimani's funeral in Tehran, which was later
due to move to his southern home city of Kerman, were led by
Khamenei, who wept as he spoke.
His daughter Zeinab Soleimani told mourners the United
States would face a "dark day" for her father's death.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group
Hamas, on his first trip to Iran since taking up his role in
2017, said "resistance against American dominance will not be
broken".
The coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a US drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in Tehran. Picture: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
NUCLEAR TENSIONS
Adding to tensions, Iran said it was taking another step
back from commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with six powers
that Washington withdrew from in 2018.
Britain said Iran's move was "extremely concerning" and
Germany said it would still work to save the pact.
After quitting the deal, the United States imposed new
sanctions on Iran, saying it wanted to halt Iranian oil exports,
the main source of government revenues. Iran's economy has been
in freefall as the currency has plunged.
The funeral processions mark the first time Iran honoured a single man with a multi-city ceremony. Not even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, received such a procession with his death in 1989. Picture: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
Trump's adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Monday that Trump
was confident he could renegotiate a new nuclear agreement "if
Iran wants to start behaving like a normal country".
Tehran has said Washington must return to the existing
nuclear pact and lift sanctions before any talks can take place.
Trump stood by remarks that cultural sites were potential
targets, despite criticism from U.S. politicians that this
amounted to a threat to commit war crimes.
"They're allowed to kill our people. They're allowed to
torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside
bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch
their cultural sites? It doesn't work that way," Trump said.
Mourners attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades, who were killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone strike on Friday, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in Tehran. Picture: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
Democratic critics of the Republican president have said
Trump was reckless in authorising the strike. Republicans in the
U.S. Congress have generally backed his move.
Trump also threatened sanctions against Iraq and said
Baghdad would have to pay Washington for an air base in Iraq if
U.S. troops were required to leave.
It was not clear if Washington had advised its allies of its
plans before killing Soleimani. Britain, which also has troops
in Iraq, said it understood why the United States had acted but
called for a de-escalation to avoid war.
Oil prices were up around 1% since Friday at around
$69.30 per barrel of Brent crude on concerns about an
escalation.
Mourners attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades at the Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in Tehran. Picture: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP