Qassem Soleimani News

Iranian Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi confirmed that the death toll stands at 95 instead of the 103 reported earlier. He told state TV that 211 others were injured, making it the deadliest attack in the history of Iran.

General Soleimani held a paramount position in Iran, considered the second-most influential figure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As the chief commander of the elite Quds Force, the overseas branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Soleimani orchestrated covert operations abroad and played a crucial role in Iran's mission to expel US forces from the Middle East.

The solemn occasion near the cemetery, where the late Qassem Soleimani rests, turned into a scene of horror as Iranian state television reported a sequence of explosions. The first explosion was followed by a second, intensifying the tragedy and causing widespread panic among attendees.

Iran will strike a reciprocal blow against the US for the killing of top Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, said Iran`s Supreme Leader. On January 3, a US drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region.

Iran said on Sunday (January 5) it was taking a further step back from its commitments, although it also said it would continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog. Its announcement coincided with a major escalation of tensions with Washington following the US killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike on Friday in Baghdad.

During Tuesday's session, "all members of the Pentagon, the affiliated companies and institutes and commanders and those who ordered for the assassination of Lieutenant General martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani" were added to the terrorist list, as reported by Fars agency.

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 US forces from the region in revenge.

Iran`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept while leading mourners in prayer for the funeral on Monday of slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, whose death in a US drone strike has caused a huge outpouring of national grief.

Trump also threatened "major retaliation" against Iran if Tehran were to retaliate for the killing of one of its top military commanders.

A Katyusha rocket fell near the United States embassy in Baghdad`s heavily fortified Green Zone which houses government buildings and foreign missions on Friday but caused no casualties, two police sources told Reuters.

The overnight attack, authorised by US President Donald Trump, was a major escalation in a "shadow war" in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and American allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The US embassy in Baghdad urged all citizens to depart from Iraq immediately, hours after the US killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in an air strike.

Strikes had been carried out against two targets linked to Iran in Baghdad on Thursday, U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to give any further details.

General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations wing, was lightly injured in fighting against Syria rebels near Aleppo, a monitoring group and a security source said on Wednesday.

Iran played an integral role leading up to Russia's move to launch its air campaign in Syria and play a stronger role in Iraq, Iraqi government officials said.