A sea of black-clad Iranians on Monday mourned the top commander killed in last week’s US drone strike that inflamed tensions across the Middle East as NATO ambassadors met to discuss the spiralling crisis.
Iranians clutching anti-American signs and portraits of their hero Qasem Soleimani massed as supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over the emotional service for the slain head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force.
The targeted killing of 62-year-old Soleimani ordered by US President Trump saw the Islamic republic vow “severe revenge” before Tehran also took a further step back from the already tattered 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.
In an escalating war of words that has heightened international concern and rattled financial markets, Trump threatened yet more “major retaliation” if Tehran hits back, including strikes on Iranian cultural sites.
Iraq’s parliament has meanwhile demanded the Government expel the 5,200 American troops stationed in the country in response to the drone attack.