Qasem Soleimani, one of Iran's most popular public figures, was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport
Coffins of Soleimani and others on a truck during a funeral procession in Tehran on Monday. Pic/AFP
Tehran: Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill on Monday as mourners flooded the Iranian capital to pay an emotional homage to Qasem Soleimani, the "heroic" general killed in a US strike.
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Young and old were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets, including women dressed in black-clad chadors and others wearing loose-fitting hijabs.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has vowed "severe revenge" 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 "martyrs" killed in the strike.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
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.
"There are large crowds at metro stations but as there is also a huge crowd at the street level, it isn't possible to evacuate passengers," 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.
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