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Iran Guard Leader Threatens to 'Set Ablaze' US-Backed Places

Associated Press

   TEHRAN, IRAN - The leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened on
   Tuesday to "set ablaze'' places supported by the United States over the
   killing of a top Iranian general in a U.S. airstrike last week,
   sparking cries from the crowd of supporters of "Death to Israel!''

   Hossein Salami made the pledge before a crowd of thousands gathered in
   a central square in Kerman, the hometown of the slain Gen. Qassem
   Soleimani. His vow mirrored the demands of top Iranian officials - from
   Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to others - as well as supporters
   across the Islamic Republic, demanding retaliation against America for
   a slaying that's drastically raised tensions across the Middle East.

   Mourners in Kerman dressed in black carried posters bearing the image
   of Soleimani, a man whose slaying prompted Iran's supreme leader to
   weep over his casket on Monday as a crowd said by police to be in the
   millions filled Tehran streets. Although there was no independent
   estimate, aerial footage and Associated Press journalists suggested a
   turnout of at least 1 million, and the throngs were visible on
   satellite images of Tehran taken Monday.

   Authorities later brought Soleimani's remains and those of the others
   killed in the airstrike to Iran's holy city of Qom, where another
   massive crowd turned out.

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