We will retaliate but not in a hurry – IRAN 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the U.S. army will “pay the price” for killing Soleimani and al-Muhandis.

“The American army killed them and it will pay the price,” he said in a televised speech.

“The only just punishment is [to target] American military presence in the region: U.S. military bases, U.S. warships, each and every officer and soldier in the region,” Nasrallah said. In common with other Iranian officials, Dehghan suggested that Iran was in no hurry to retaliate and would choose its targets carefully. “Our reaction will be wise, well-considered and in time, with decisive deterrent effect,” he added.

Earlier, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani had said that Americans would face consequences for killing Soleimani “not only today but also in the coming years”.

Footage filmed by Iran Press showed huge crowds taking to the streets of the Iranian city of Ahvaz, marking the beginning of ceremonies in his honour.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners have turned out in Iran to receive home the remains of Qasem Soleimani, the general killed by a US drone strike in Iraq.

In Ahvaz, where Soleimani served during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), mourners chanted: “Death to America.”

Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s sphere of influence across the Middle East and was considered to be the country’s second most powerful man.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who had a close personal relationship with Soleimani, has warned of “severe revenge” for the attack, and analysts say Iran may pursue cyber-attacks against the U.S. or traditional attacks on U.S. targets or interests in the Middle East.

Soleimani’s burial will take place in his home town of Kerman tomorrow.