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'Million-strong' homage for general brings Tehran to standstill

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Amir Havasi, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/01/06/20200106-iran-rtr.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Iranian people attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran January 6, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>TEHRAN - Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill Monday as mourners flooded the Iranian capital to pay an emotional homage to Qasem Soleimani, the &quot;heroic&quot; general killed in a US strike.Young and old were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets, including women dressed in black-clad chadours and others wearing loose-fitting hijabs.Soleimani, one of Iran&#x27;s most popular public figures, was killed in a US drone strike on Friday near Baghdad international airport. He was 62.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/06/20/a-typical-trump-vacation-with-a-momentous-result">A typical Trump vacation, with a momentous result</a></li></ul>His assassination drove up tensions between arch-enemies Washington and Tehran, which has vowed &quot;severe revenge&quot;.&quot;He was a hero. He defeated Daesh,&quot; said a woman in her 30s, referring to the Islamic State group.&quot;What America did is definitely a crime,&quot; said the woman who only gave her surname as Mohammadi.&quot;I&#x27;m here to mourn his martyrdom. There must be a response but we don&#x27;t want war. Nobody wants war,&quot; she told AFP.State television said it was a &quot;several million-strong&quot; turnout.Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has vowed &quot;severe revenge&quot; for the US attack, presided over prayers for the slain general.He appeared to cry beside the flag-draped coffins containing the remains of Soleimani and five other &quot;martyrs&quot; killed in the strike.The streets of Tehran were so full of people that many were unable to emerge from underground metro stations, semi-official news agency ISNA reported.&quot;There are large crowds at metro stations but as there is also a huge crowd at the street level, it isn&#x27;t possible to evacuate passengers,&quot; metro chief Farnoush Nobakht was quoted as saying.The sheer number of mourners left many people stuck in sidestreets around Enghelab (Revolution) Street, the main route of a procession to a ceremony at Tehran University.<div>&#x27;CRUSHING RESPONSE&#x27;</div>It was silent in one alley until a child who climbed a tree to see if the street ahead had opened uttered &quot;Death to America&quot;.People within earshot soon joined in and loudly chanted the same phrase.Chants of &quot;Death to infidels,&quot; &quot;Death to seditionists&quot; and &quot;Death to al-Saud&quot; -- a reference to the Saudi ruling family -- were then heard.But most of the anger was directed at Tehran&#x27;s arch-enemy Washington and US President Donald Trump.One man said he had come to the capital with his wife and child before dawn from Karaj, a city about 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of the Iranian capital.&quot;Our message to America is we will hit you. We&#x27;ll make you pay for the blood you spilled,&quot; said Mehdi Ghorbani.&quot;America should know they started this, but we will end it,&quot; he told AFP.A group of teenagers stood in a circle holding banners, one reading: &quot;Haj Qasem&#x27;s shoe is worth more than Trump&#x27;s head&quot;.Other mourners called for US forces to be driven out of the region.&quot;We must give a crushing response,&quot; one of the mourners told AFP.&quot;We must target whatever military base they have in the region. We must attack all that are in the range of our missiles,&quot; said the 61-year-old businessman who gave his name as Afkhami.&quot;Americans being thrown out (of Iraq) is not enough.&quot;amh-neg/dv/dr<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

TEHRAN - Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill Monday as mourners flooded the Iranian capital to pay an emotional homage to Qasem Soleimani, the "heroic" general killed in a US strike.

TEHRAN - Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill Monday as mourners flooded the Iranian capital to pay an emotional homage to Qasem Soleimani, the "heroic" general killed in a US strike.

'Million-strong' homage for general brings Tehran to standstill

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'Million-strong' homage for general brings Tehran to standstill

Amir Havasi,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 06, 2020 06:53 PM PHT

Read More:

tehran

iran

Qasem Soleimani

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

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