World / Iran Minister tweets pics, asks Trump 'Have you ever seen such a sea of humanity'

Iran's foreign minister challenged Donald Trump today with pictures of millions packing the streets of Tehran for General Qassem Soleimani's funeral after he was killed in a US drone strike.

'Have you EVER seen such a sea of humanity in your life, @realdonaldtrump?' Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. 'Do you still want to listen to the clowns advising you on our region? And do you still imagine you can break the will of this great nation? End of malign US presence in West Asia has begun.'

Iranian state media has claimed that millions attended Soleimani's funeral in Tehran on Monday, although the numbers could not be verified.

Zarif, who is US-educated, will be well aware of President Trump's frequent boasts about crowd sizes at his rallies in the past and most notably, his inaugural address.

Later Trump fired back his own taunt, tweeting: 'IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!' 

Have you EVER seen such a sea of humanity in your life, @realdonaldtrump?

Do you still want to listen to the clowns advising you on our region?

And do you still imagine you can break the will of this great nation & its people?

End of malign US presence in West Asia has begun. pic.twitter.com/5WzYM9OBuQ

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 6, 2020

It comes as Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was seen weeping over Soleimani's coffin as hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran for the second day of the commander's funeral procession. 

Speaking to the wailing crowds, Soleimani's daughter Zeinap directly threatened an attack on U.S. forces in the region. 'The families of U.S. soldiers in the Middle East will spend their days waiting for death of their children,' she said to cheers. 

Warning of a 'dark day' looming for the United States, she said: 'Crazy Trump, don't think that everything is over with my father's martyrdom.'  

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport on Friday, shocking the Islamic republic and sending tensions spiralling in the Middle East.

His remains were flown back to Iran last night, carried in a cardboard box which had its own row of seats on a passenger jet. 

Iran has vowed 'severe revenge' and yesterday abandoned the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal in response to the airstrike, while Trump has threatened a 'disproportionate response' targeting cultural sites. 

Adding to the tensions, Trump has warned of sanctions against Iraq if it goes through with expelling US troops from the country - a move which could spark an ISIS resurgence there.  

As the Middle East teetered on the brink of war: 

Iranian state media said 'millions' of people had gathered in Tehran to mourn Soleimani's death in scenes not witnessed since the death of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989;

Soleimani's replacement as commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, vowed revenge and said Iran was aiming to 'get rid of America from the region'; 

Trump threatened Iraq with sanctions after the country's parliament voted to kick out the 5,000 US troops stationed there, sparking fears of an ISIS resurgence;

The US president defended his targeting of cultural sites despite Democratic claims that he was preparing to commit war crimes; 

The US-led coalition against ISIS in Iraq said it was pausing its fight against the jihadist group to shore up its own defences against an Iranian reprisal; 

Oil prices jumped to their highest level since September, surpassing $70 per barrel, amid fears that Iran could harass ships in the Strait of Hormuz;  

Rockets landed near the US embassy in Baghdad for the second night in a row, with American troops and diplomats on high alert for Iranian reprisals;  

Germany, France and Britain called for de-escalation and urged Iran to stick by the 2015 nuclear agreement which is now on the brink of total collapse;

Boris Johnson's spokesman cautioned against the destruction of cultural heritage and called Iran's move away from the nuclear deal 'concerning' after the PM returned from holiday for crisis talks in London.  

Today the supreme leader was flanked by Soleimani's son, his military replacement Esmail Qaani and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani at the funeral in Tehran. 

Mourners prayed together with Khamenei whose voice cracked as he prayed over the flag-draped coffin.

Some mourners shouted 'Death to America' and burned US and Israeli flags as the coffins of Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader who also died in the drone strike were passed over their heads.  

Iranian state TV put the crowd size at 'millions,' although that number could not be verified. 

The scale of the crowds in Tehran mirrored those who turned out in 1989 for the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.  

Soleimani will lie in state at Tehran's famed Musalla mosque as the revolutionary leader did before him. He will eventually be buried in his hometown of Kerman.

Mourners marched towards the university, a key artery in Tehran, and formed a sea of black along Enghelab Street dotted with red Shiite flags and white signs.  

The coffin of Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in Friday's attack, was draped in the Iraqi flag and passed over the crowds alongside Soleimani's casket. 

'We must give a crushing response,' said one of the mourners, a 61-year-old businessman who gave his name as Afkhami.

'We must target whatever military base they have in the region. We must attack all that are in the range of our missiles.'   

One poster held by a mourner read: 'It is our right to seek a harsh revenge,' echoing comments by Iranian military and political leaders.

Washington regards Soleimani as a terrorist leader who was plotting against Americans and had the blood of thousands on his hands through his work with Iranian proxies in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.  

But many Iranians considered Soleimani, a decorated veteran of the eight-year war with Iraq, a national hero, particularly for mobilising Shi'ite Muslim groups in Iraq to help crush the militant Sunni jihadists of ISIS.  

Soleimani was also close with Khamenei's children and the supreme leader had been photographed embracing him in public. The Ayatollah made a rare visit to Soleimani's home the day he was killed to offer condolences to his grieving widow and grown children. 

One funeral organiser has called on every Iranian to donate money towards an $80million bounty on Trump's head, according to Iranian television. 

On Friday Khamenei vowed 'severe revenge' as he declared three days of mourning.  

Esmail Qaani, who has succeeded Soleimani as commander of the Revolutionary Quards' powerful Quds Force, also swore revenge in an interview with state TV which was aired today. 

'God the almighty has promised to get his revenge, and God is the main avenger. Certainly actions will be taken,' he said. 

'We promise to continue down martyr Soleimani's path as firmly as before with help of God, and in return for his martyrdom we aim to get rid of America from the region.' 

American forces are braced for retaliation and the US-led coalition against ISIS said in a statement yesterday that it was pausing its fight against the jihadists to shore up its own defences. 

US bases in the region are shoring up their defences and there are also fears that Iran will harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which is critical to the world's oil supply. 

The global benchmark for crude oil rose above $70 a barrel on Monday for the first time in over three months, with jitters rising over the escalating military tensions. 

One Iranian MP also warned of an attack on the White House while an adviser to Hassan Rouhani posted a list of Trump-owned properties in a hint of a possible reprisal.  

A former head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards also threatened on Sunday to turn the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv 'to dust' if the US attacks targets in Iran. 

Last night Iranian state TV said the country would no longer respect any of the nuclear limits in the 2015 deal, which Trump abandoned last year but which European powers are desperately trying to preserve. 

Under the deal, Tehran had pledged to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years, including by capping its enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent, far below the more than 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon. 

Iran has already overstepped some of the limits since Trump pulled out of the deal last year, which include restrictions on Iran's supply of centrifuges and the level to which uranium can be enriched. 

Last night two rockets landed near the US embassy in Baghdad, the second night in a row that the heavily fortified Green Zone was hit and the 14th time over the last two months that US installations have been targeted. 

Friday's drone attack was ordered by President Donald Trump, who said Soleimani had been planning an 'imminent' attack on Americans in Iraq. 

In a series of sabre-rattling tweets, Trump has warned that the US will 'quickly and fully strike back, and perhaps in a disproportionate manner' if Iran aims fire at US targets. 

The president said America had lined up attacks on 52 targets 'important to Iran and the Iranian culture', representing the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran after a raid in 1979.   

Talking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington last night, Trump stood by his targeting of cultural sites despite claims of potential war crimes.

'They're allowed to kill our people. They're allowed to torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn't work that way,' Trump said. 

Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for her party's presidential nomination, said Trump was 'threatening to commit war crimes'.

The president's critics have also accused him of launching the attack on Soleimani to boost his popularity before he faces an impeachment trial in the coming weeks. 

In Britain, a spokesman for prime minister Boris Johnson issued a warning over Trump's plans, saying there were international conventions in place to stop the destruction of cultural heritage. 

Trump has also warned he will demand billions of dollars in compensation from Iran's neighbour Iraq or impose 'sanctions like they've never seen before' if Baghdad goes through with expelling U.S. troops. 

The sanctions would make those on Iran look 'tame', Trump said, adding: 'We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that's there... we're not leaving unless they pay us back for it.' 

Yesterday the Iraqi parliament backed a recommendation by the prime minister for all foreign troops to be ordered out - a move which Washington fears could allow an ISIS resurgence. 

Iraq's rival Shi'ite leaders, including those opposed to Iranian influence, have united since Friday's attack in calling for the expulsion of U.S. troops. 

There are around 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, deployed after ISIS seized Mosul in 2014. 

Today German foreign minister Heiko Maas said threatening Iraq was 'not very helpful'. Germany has a small contingent of troops there training Iraqi forces.   

Monday's procession in Tehran comes after Soleimani's remains were returned to Iran on Sunday.

The Iranian general's body was marched through the streets of Baghdad, before it was flown to the city of Ahvaz in southwest Iran, where around one million mourners gathered to pay their respects. 

A video of the journey posted on social media on Sunday five cardboard boxes resting on seats in the cabin of a passenger jet rather than being loaded into the cargo or baggage compartments. 

The Revolutionary Guards said the overwhelming number of mourners in Mashhad forced the cancellation of a ceremony that had been planned in Tehran on Sunday night.