56 die in stampede at Soleymani funeral

January 10, 2020

At least 56 people were killed January 7 when a stampede broke out at the funeral for Gen. Qassem Soleymani in his hometown of Kerman.

There was no information as to what had set off the stampede. Online videos showed people lying apparently lifeless, their faces covered by clothing. Emergency crews performed CPR on others as people wailed in the background, crying out to God.

Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency medical services, said, “Unfortunately, as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions.” He put the death toll at 56, with 213 injured.

Soleimani’s burial was later delayed. Authorities cited concerns about the massive crowd that had gathered as a reason for the delay.

Soleymani’s casket was taken across Iraq to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala, then flown to Iran for mourning cereminies in Mashhad, Qom, Ahvaz and Tehran before being taken to Kerman for burial.

At the Tehran mourning ceremony, Gen.  Hossain Salami, the Pasdar commander, said, “We tell our enemies that we will retaliate—but, if they take another action, we will set ablaze the places that they like and are passionate about.”

“Death to Israel!” the crowd shouted in response. Israel is a longtime regional foe of Iran.

In his eulogy, Salami praised Soleymani’s work, describing him as essential to backing Palestinian groups, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria. As a martyr, Soleimani represented an even greater threat to Iran’s enemies, Salami said.

According to a report by the Tasnim news agency, Iran has worked up 13 sets of plans for revenge. The report quoted Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as saying that even the weakest among them would be a “historic nightmare” for the US.

“If the US troops do not leave our region voluntarily and upright, we will do something to carry their bodies out horizontally,” Shamkhani said.