QOM, Iran (NBC) – Thousands of Iranians greeted the coffin carrying the remains of Iran’s top general as it arrived Monday in the holy city of Qom.
People crowded around the coffin as his body was brought to a shrine.
General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad last week.
His coffin was passed through the mosque by hundreds of mourners, with a vast crowd waiting outside.
Hundreds of thousands mourned his death across Iran.
The coffin had already been taken to three other cities in Iran ahead of a funeral planned for Tuesday.
The processions mark the first time Iran honored a single man with a multi-city ceremony.
The killing of Soleimani has stoked concern around the globe that a broader regional conflict could erupt.
Soleimani is expected to be laid to rest in his birthplace, the southeastern town of Kerman, where the day has been declared a holiday.
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