UK forces brace for revenge attacks by Iran: Two warships and SAS are mobilised in the Gulf and troops armed with more firepower to protect citizens and assets - as Trump threatens more attacks after Soleimani killing (and Boris jets home)

• e-mail

Britain has ramped up its security in the Middle East and has given its troops in the region greater firepower, telling them to prepare for revenge strikes following the US drone attack on Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani.

As well as two warships being manoeuvered to accompany British-flagged oil tankers in the Gulf, more than 400 soldiers training local forces have been ordered to abandon duties and switch to 'force protection' and guard British diplomats and assets amid fears of an 'accidental war' between Iran and the US.

The soldiers will be handed heavier weapons and have been told to move from eight small bases in Iraq to large US-controlled compounds, although these sights are at risk of retaliation after an Iranian official said 35 US targets had already been identified in the region.

A Royal Navy nuclear powered submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles is also in the region, where it is kept at all times, and is in position to strike if tensions give way to war. The 20ft tomahawk carries a 1,000lb high explosive war head has a range of 1,550 miles and travels at speeds of 550mph, with the power to destroy a building.

Donald Trump then stoked the fire by threatening to hit '52 Iranian targets... very fast and very hard' should Iran strike any Americans or US assets in retribution for the killing of the popular and revered general.

At least four rockets were fired towards Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Saturday night, where the US and British embassies sit.

A senior British figure told The Times: 'We have a plan A and a plan B and a 'break the glass' plan if it all kicks off. Our forces in the region have been told to reorientate towards force protection.'

Boris Johnson, who will return to the UK from his holiday in Mustique on Sunday and has remained tight-lipped throughout the crisis, has been described as 'pretty doveish' by a senior figure, who said the Prime Minister's main concern was to avoid Britain being dragged into an unnecessary war. 

But Mr Johnson will not only be greeted with a geopolitical emergency on his return, but he will also walk back in to a simmering diplomatic row with the US after Britain was left in the dark about the attack, unlike Israel.

He is now responding to threats in the Middle East by deploying HMS Montrose and HMS Defender, a Type 23 frigate and a Type 45 destroyer which were already in the region, to accompany British-flagged oil tankers.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace ordered the warships to the Strait of Hormuz to 'take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens'. 

Around 50 members of the SAS are also heading to the Middle East to help with a potential evacuation of Britons, while defence chiefs are asking Mr Johnson whether to deploy eight RAF Typhoon jets based in Cyprus, a Sentinel spy plane and drones. 

Iranians burn a US and an Israeli flag during an anti-US protest in Tehran on Saturday following the brutal killings of military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis

Mourners carry the coffins of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, during their funeral in Karbala

Protesters chanted 'death to America!' and held aloft signs vowing revenge over the death of the popular and revered general

President Donald Trump flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up after playing a round of golf at Mar-a-Largo as an Iranian official warned that the country has already identified 35 U.S. targets to hit in retaliation for Qassem Soleimani's death

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: A protestor from the Stop the War Coalition wears a Donald Trump mask and has a placard saying 'WARMONGER' draped around his neck during protests opposite Downing Street in Whitehall, London on Saturday

HMS Defender (pictured) has been sent to the Strait of Hormuz to protect British troops and assets in the Gulf

Britain has also sent frigate HMS Montrose (pictured) to the Persian Gulf in the wake of the US drone strike on Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani

The Foreign Office has strengthened its warnings over travel to the Middle East after a US drone strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (pictured) in Baghdad

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) ordered the warships to the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the British-flagged ships make it through the perilous region safely. Boris Johnson (right) will fly back from Mustique on Sunday as the crisis deepens

Plans are now afoot to to move British soldiers to secure the British embassy in Baghdad amid fears that Iranian proxies could kill or abduct Britons or storm the enclave.

Intelligence chiefs also fear there is a credible threat to the British embassy in Tehran, which was stormed by local mobs in 2011. 

The CIA's former head of Middle East operation, Doug Wise, said: 'If you are a British or US diplomat, you better be checking for bombs under your car.' 

The Foreign Office and MI6 are monitoring events 'hour by hour', with ministers believing there is a 40 per cent chance the UK will be asked to withdraw all its forces from Baghdad.

John Sawers, former head of MI6, said the US had declared 'an act of war' by assassinating Soleimani. 

As tensions mounted globally yesterday over Iran's potential response:

• Crowds chanting 'death to America' gathered in Iraq's capital Baghdad to follow the coffin of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's covert Middle East operations, who was blown up by missiles from a US drone at Baghdad airport on Friday morning;
• Concern grew for London charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained for more than three years in Iran over spying allegations she denies. Last night her husband Richard told The Mail on Sunday that, when he broke the news of the air strike to her over the phone, she asked: 'What will happen to me now?';
• Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told a protest against the action in Westminster that 'violence begets violence' and called for civil disobedience;
• The Foreign Office advised against travel to Iraq and warned against all but essential travel to Iran. Alerts for other Middle East nations were being raised, with citizens urged to 'remain vigilant' in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates;
• British troops were on lockdown in Iraq as joint exercises with Iraqis were cancelled;
• Donald Trump threatened more violence saying the US had identified 52 targets, representing the 52 hostages held by Iran in 1979, which he would hit 'very fast and very hard' if Iran retaliated 
• Two missiles fell close to the US embassy in Baghdad. 

Amid rising anger among ministers over America's failure to give the UK warning, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hit back by criticising the British Government's cool response to the killing of Soleimani.

Downing Street staff are now scrambling to mount a response by arranging for Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to fly to Washington for talks with Mr Pompeo – and to examine options for boosting the British military presence in the region. 

Furious British security officials have also accused No 10 of allowing a 'political vacuum' to open up while Mr Johnson was on holiday in the Caribbean, during which he failed to make any comment on the incident. 

Downing Street insisted that Mr Johnson would be briefed in full on the situation once he returns to work, including on the possibility of retaliatory actions Iran might take against the UK. 

Mr Wallace said: 'Yesterday I spoke to my US counterpart Secretary Esper and we urge all parties to engage to de-escalate the situation. 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) spoke to members of Soleimani's family on Saturday during a visit to their house after the general's death

U.S. Army, Maj. Gen. James Mingus, the 82nd Airborne Division commanding general, speaks with paratroopers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division as they deploy to the Middle East from Fort Bragg on Saturday

An Iranian official revealed that at least 35 US targets have been identified for retaliatory strikes, including ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz (file photo)

'During the last few months US forces in Iraq, who are based in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, have been repeatedly attacked by Iranian backed militia. 

'I have instructed preparation for HMS Montrose and HMS Defender to return to accompanying duties of Red Ensign Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The Government will take all necessary steps to protect our ship and citizens at this time.' 

In a bid to avoid a full-blown fall out with America, Mr Wallace said the US had a right under international law to defend itself. 

On Saturday, Donald Trump tweeted from Mar-a-Lago: 'Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American and badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters.

'He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years.

'Let this serve as a warning that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago).

'Some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, will be hit very fast and very hard. The USA wants no more threats.' 

Trump's threat referenced the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981, in which 52 U.S. diplomats and citizens were held hostage by student revolutionaries in Iran. 

His threat to target sites important to 'Iranian culture' drew many accusations from critics that he was threatening to commit 'war crimes'. 

82nd Airborne Division paratroopers load aircraft bound for the Middle East from Fort Bragg on Saturday

Pictured: an oil tanker docked at Port Rashid in Dubai in the Persian Gulf

Mr Johnson will likely be greeted by Sir Mark Sedwill on Sunday, the National Security Adviser, as the crisis deepens.

Sedwill has been locked in meetings on Saturday with the heads of the UK intelligence agencies on potential risks to ships and citizens in the Middle East.

An Iranian official said at least 35 US targets, including warships and Tel Aviv, have been identified for retaliatory strikes.

Lebanon's Hezbollah have told Iraqi soldiers to leave US bases and the White House believes an attack may happen 'within weeks'. 

The potential threat was raised by General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, the commander of the Guards in the southern province of Kerman, one day after the top military leader was killed at the Baghdad International Airport. 

Abuhamzeh said vital American targets in the region had been identified a 'long time ago', including ships in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and Tel Aviv. 

WASHINGTON DC, USA: A demonstrator holds a sign which reads 'No war with Iran' as hundreds gathered across the US in response to increased tensions in the Middle East

Thousands attended the funeral procession in Karbala, Iraq, and waved flags and banners in support of the slain military chiefs

Iran is considering its options against America in retaliation for the killing of Quds commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. The conflict could quickly spiral out of control, dragging in other world powers including Russia, Turkey and China

'The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there … some 35 US targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv are within our reach,' he said, according to Reuters.

Hezbollah, an Islamic political and militant group, has also warned Iraqi soldiers to stay at least 1,000 meters away from US military bases from Sunday onwards.

In Mr Johnson's absence from the UK, civil servants and spy chiefs chaired three meetings of the Government's crisis Cobra meetings, with Mr Raab taking the 'political lead'.

However his response – a 34-word public statement – was last night branded by one Minister as 'wet' and 'too timid'. Allies of the Foreign Secretary hit back that there 'was more to diplomacy than Twitter' and dismissed suggestions that Mr Raab regarded the attack as anything other than legitimate.

The crisis has also caused tensions with the UK's main EU partners. A joint statement on the attack from Britain, Germany and France, dubbed the E3, was abandoned on Friday evening amid wrangling over the wording.

In his remarks to the American media, Mr Pompeo said he was 'disappointed' by the response from Mr Raab, who called for a 'de-escalation' in tensions.

Mr Pompeo said: 'Frankly, the Europeans haven't been as helpful as I wish that they could be.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured)  said the updated advice was issued due to 'heightened tensions in the region' and would be kept under review

At Soleimani's funeral on Saturday mourners chanted 'Death to America!' as tensions rise in the Middle East

LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Protesters set alight American and Israeli flags in the Pakistani city on Friday after news of Soleimani's death spread throughout the world 

Mourners lift up the coffins inside the Shrine of Imam Hussein in the Iraqi city of Karbala

'The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well.

'This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the US is trying to do to get Iran to simply behave like a normal nation.' 

Following the criticism of Mr Raab's response, Mr Wallace said: 'General Soleimani has been at the heart of the use of proxies to undermine neighbouring sovereign nations and target Iran's enemies.

'Under international law the United States is entitled to defend itself against those posing an imminent threat to their citizens.

'I have instructed preparations for HMS Montrose and HMS Defender to return to accompanying duties of Red Ensign shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

'The Government will take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens at this time.' 

British nationals have been advised not to travel to Iraq, apart from essential travel to its Kurdistan Region, while all but essential travel to Iran was warned against.

The guidance was bolstered this afternoon after the US announced it was sending nearly 3,000 extra troops to the region after Donald Trump authorised the killing of Soleimani early on Friday.

Thousands of mourners chanting 'death to America' also took to the streets of Baghdad, where the head of Iran's elite Quds force was targeted at the capital's international airport on Friday.

The day of mourning in the Iraqi capital ended Saturday evening with a series of rockets that were launched and fell inside or near the Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, including the US Embassy. 

And around the world, anti-war protesters in New York, London, Berlin and Washington DC chanted against the escalation of warfare carried out by President Trump. 

NEW YORK, USA: An anti-War protest organised by anti-fascist groups including Code Pink, a woman-led peace movement, marched behind flags and banners

Demonstrators also marched from the White House to the Trump International Hotel to protest US military involvement in the Middle East

Iranian members of the Basij militia take part in an anti-US rally to protest the killing of Soleimani at Palestine Square in the Tehran

TORONTO, CANADA: Iranian-Canadians gather to celebrate the death of a top Iranian general Soleimani on Friday bearing the flags of pre-Islamic Revolution Iran

The U.S. Embassy (pictured) located in Baghdad, Iraq, was nearly under siege by enraged mourners earlier this week

Tel Aviv, a prominent city in Israel, has also be singled out as a possible target for attack by General Gholamali Abuhamzeh

Thousands of mourners flooded the streets to mourn the deaths of Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi militia commander, on Saturday (pictured) 

The President has claimed that Soleimani was 'the number one terrorist in the world' and had a 'sick passion' for killing.

He has said the strike was designed to avert a war because the general was plotting terror attacks. The Iranian regime responded by vowing to exact 'severe revenge', saying 'Trump and his cronies' would 'never sleep comfortably again'.

Security sources warn that Iran is likely to respond in multiple ways. While a traditional military confrontation remains unlikely, an acceleration of proxy war activity is likely to be paired with direct attacks on UK and US assets, most probably in the Straits of Hormuz.

The National Cyber Security Centre is also braced for a possible major cyber attack. Ministers are also monitoring economic effects as oil price rises could result in higher fuel costs.

Amid the growing concern about Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Foreign Office warned yesterday that other British nationals could be 'arbitrarily' detained by the authorities in Iran.

A British general who went head to head with Soleimani during the Iraq War has called on the UK to develop its own foreign policy independent of the US after President Trump's 'assassination by whim'.

Major General Jonathan Shaw, 62, Britain's senior officer in southern Iraq while Soleimani was directing terrorist operations which killed scores of British soldiers, said the UK's 'default position' of following the US lead on foreign policy was no longer safe.

The hand and ring of Soleimani photographed after he was killed by a U.S. drone strike that sent missiles at his vehicle while leaving the Baghdad Airport on Friday morning 

Mourners surround a car carrying the coffin of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani through the streets of Baghdad on Saturday

An Iranian woman breaks down in tears during an anti-US rally to protest the killing of the popular and revered general

Maj Gen Shaw said: 'Not telling the UK beforehand [about the drone strike], despite us having 400 service personnel and many civilians in the country, demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the safety of anyone but Americans.

'This is not so much America First as America Only.'

The Foreign Office said anyone in Iraq outside the Kurdistan Region should consider leaving by commercial means because the 'uncertain' security situation 'could deteriorate quickly'.

It also advised against 'all but essential travel' to Iran. 

Alerts regarding other Middle East nations were also being increased, with warnings that Britons should 'remain vigilant' in Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the updated advice was issued due to 'heightened tensions in the region' and would be kept under review.

'The first job of any Government is to keep British people safe,' he added.

The US President said he ordered a strike to prevent a conflict, but Tehran has vowed harsh retaliation - raising fears of an all-out war.

Whitehall insiders also said that the rift between the US and the UK posed a threat to a trip to Washington being planned by the Prime Minister next month.

A source said: 'These things are delicate enough to organise at the best of times, and it's clear the White House is p***** off.'

One Government source described the Cobra meeting on Friday afternoon as 'spicy', with officials infuriated by the lack of direction from politicians and a weak public response.

An Iranian member of the Basij militia struggles to contain the emotion as he takes part in an anti-US rally in Baghdad

A woman carries an image of Soleimani, who was killed by a US airstrike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, during an anti-US protest in Tehran

An Iranian woman crises while another holds her face during an anti-US rally to protest the killing of Soleimani 

An American official denied the nation was behind a second deadly air strike on two vehicles being reported north of Baghdad.

Gen Soleimani masterminded Tehran's regional security strategy, including the war against the Islamic State terror group, and was blamed for attacks on US and allied troops.

President Trump continued with his rhetoric despite widespread calls for calm, saying that Gen Soleimani's 'reign of terror is over' and describing him as having a 'sick passion' for killing.

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt stressed the peril being faced after recent 'extreme' actions by both the US and Iran, which have simmered since Mr Trump tore up a nuclear deal between the nations.

'Well it's an incredibly dangerous game of chicken that's going on at the moment, because both sides have calculated that the other side cannot afford, and doesn't want, to go to war,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Hunt said the tensions created a 'very difficult situation' for the UK as an ally of the States, adding Britain 'cannot afford to be neutral'.

'But this is a very, very risky situation, and I think the job that we have to do as one of the US's closest allies is to use our influence to argue for more consistent US policy,' he said.

There has been criticism of the US for not giving advanced notice of the attack to the UK, which has hundreds of troops deployed in Iraq.

Mr Hunt said the failure to notify was 'regrettable' because allies should ensure 'there are no surprises in the relationship'.

The anti-US rally in Tehran's Palestine Square drew thousands of people

Iranians take part in an anti-US rally at Palestine Square in the capital Tehran on Saturday

Women hold up posters of Soleimani as they protested his killing in the Iran capital

Iraqi Shiite women mourn the death of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Soleimani during a funeral procession made of thousands of citizens held in central Baghdad on Saturday

Boris Johnson has been on holiday on the private Caribbean island of Mustique and has not commented on the general's killing.

Jeremy Corbyn wrote to the Prime Minister calling for an urgent meeting of the Privy Council, the group that advises monarchs.

The outgoing Labour leader wanted to know if the 'assassination' had heightened the terror risk to the UK and whether the Government had been informed of the decision to strike.

He had earlier called on ministers to stand up to the US's 'belligerent actions and rhetoric' and 'urge restraint' from both aggressors.

Iran's President Rouhani issues chilling warning that the US made a 'grave mistake' and will face the consequences 'for years to come' after Soleimani's family asks for revenge

The President of Iran has issued a chilling warning that the U.S. made a 'grave mistake' by killing the leader of Iran's Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, in an airstrike and that it will face consequences for years to come. 

In a visit to the notorious general's house on Saturday, one of Soleimani's daughter's asked President Hassan Rhouani for revenge.

'Who is going to avenge my father's blood?' she asked. 

In response, he promised her that 'everyone will take revenge' and 'we will, we will avenge his blood , you don't worry.'

'The Americans did not realize what a grave mistake they have made. They will suffer the consequences of such criminal measure not only today, but also throughout the years to come,' Rouhani said. 

'This crime committed by the US will go down in history as one of their unforgettable crimes against the Iranian nation.'

Soleimani, 62, was killed in the early hours of Friday, local time, outside Baghdad's International Airport in an airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump.

President Rouhani (right) speaking with General Soleimani's daughters (left) on Saturday

Hours after the attack, Trump said that he ordered the killing of Soleimani to prevent war, adding that the commander was plotting 'imminent and sinister' attacks against Americans. 

The general was the architect of Iran's shadow warfare and military expansion in the Middle East and was targeted specifically because he was actively developing plans to kill members of the U.S. military and diplomats in the region.

'We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,' the president said in brief remarks at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. 

Rouhani has said that Iran has the right to seek revenge, saying that that retaliation will come when the 'dirty hands of the US' are removed from the region indefinitely.   

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei (pictured) with a member of Soleimani's family during a visit to the family's home on Friday evening

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei also visited the home on Friday evening where he said the airstrike that killed the architect of the country's infamous militia was 'villainous'. 

'Everyone is bereaved & grateful to your father. This gratitude is due to his great sincerity, since hearts are in God's hands. Without sincerity, [people's] hearts wouldn't have been with him like this. May God bestow His blessings on all of us,' he said, recounting the conversation in a tweet. 

'You saw people in many cities come out in numbers, with devotion. Wait to see his funeral. These blessings are before us to see the value of martyrdom. What a blessing for Hajj Qasem. He achieved his dream.'

In a series of other tweets following the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the Trump administration as 'villainous' and  condemned the airstrike. 

'Hajj Qasem Soleimani had been exposed to martyrdom repeatedly, but in performing his duty & fighting for the cause of God, he didn't fear anyone or anything. He was martyred by the most villainous people, the US govt, & their pride in this crime is a distinguishing feature of him,' he wrote on Saturday. 

He also warned Iran's 'enemies' that the Jihad of Resistance' supposed victory will be 'bitter.'    

Advertisement

Thousands chant 'Death to America!' and hold signs vowing revenge at funeral of Soleimani

Thousands of furious mourners thronged in the streets of Baghdad today during funeral processions for the slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia commander who died with him during yesterday's US strike.

They chanted 'Death to America' and 'America is the Great Satan' as they walked beside the coffins of Soleimani, architect of Iran's global military strategy, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Kataeb Hezbollah chief, in Baghdad. 

The pair had been riding in a two-vehicle convoy which was decimated by three missiles from an American MQ-9 Reaper Drone in the early hours of Friday outside Baghdad International Airport.

The strike - which also killed four more Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards and five members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary network - infuriated Tehran, who vowed jihad on America. 

Thousands of mourners pack the streets of Baghdad on Saturday to mourn Soleimani and Muhandis killed in a US strike outside the Iraqi capital's airport in the early hours of Friday

Funeral processions were held for the 62-year-old Soleimani (left), chief of the elite Quds Forces arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as well Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, 66, (right) commander of a pro-Iran Iraqi militia in Baghdad on Saturday

Meanwhile Iraq, whose prime minister attended the funerals today, threatened to order the expulsion of all US troops from the country after what it called 'a brazen violation of Iraq's sovereignty.' 

President Donald Trump has said that he ordered the killing of Soleimani to prevent war, adding that the commander was plotting 'imminent and sinister' attacks against Americans.  

Mourners in the Iraqi capital today carried posters of Soleimani and flags of Muhandis's Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia, which has committed brazen attacks against US bases in recent months, climaxing with a siege of the US embassy on Tuesday. 

The procession began at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad, one of the most revered in Shia Islam before crowds headed south to a point near the Green Zone, the high-security district home to government offices and foreign embassies, including America's.   

Mourners surround a car carrying the coffin of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani through the streets of Baghdad on Saturday

Meanwhile thousands of angry demonstrators stood outside the UN offices in Iran's capital, demanding retribution for the killing of Soleimani. 

The head of Iran's elite Quds Force will be laid to rest Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman as part of three days of ceremonies across the country, the Revolutionary Guards said. 

Yesterday Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visited the 62-year-old father-of-five's family home and offered condolences after vowing 'jihad' on America for the drone strike. 

It comes as Tehran's UN ambassador, who represents Iran's only diplomatic mission within the US, told CNN Friday that the airstrike was 'tantamount to opening a war against Iran.'

'The US has already started a war against Iran, not just an economic war but something beyond that by assassinating one of our top generals,' Ravanchi said. 'There will be harsh revenge... The response for a military action is a military action.'  

Today mourners in the Iraqi capital, many of them in tears, chanted: 'No, No, America,' and 'Death to America, death to Israel.'

Mohammed Fadl, a mourner dressed in black, said the funeral is an expression of loyalty to the slain leaders.

'It is a painful strike, but it will not shake us,' he said.

Two helicopters hovered over the procession, which was attended by Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and leaders of Iran-backed militias. 

The remains will later be taken to the Shiite holy city of Najaf to the south, and the remains of the Guards will then be flown to Iran, which has declared three days of mourning.

Following the violent attacks on the embassy during marches for other militant 'martyrs' earlier this week, the U.S. is bracing for the possibility of another assault.

Some of the funeral processions were being held in areas close to the heavily-fortified 'Green Zone' and officials are extremely wary of masses of militia close to consular buildings.

Any attempt by Iran-backed militias to breach the embassy would 'run into a buzzsaw' of fire from U.S. defenders, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said earlier this week. 

'We are very confident that the integrity of that embassy is strong and it is highly unlikely to be physically overrun by anyone,' Milley said at a Pentagon briefing.  

A US defense official told AFP Saturday that America would scale back military operations in Iraq and devote manpower to defending its bases and troops.

'We will conduct limited anti-Islamic State group operations with our security partners where it mutually supports our force protection efforts,' the official said. 'We have increased security and defensive measures at Iraqi bases that host coalition troops.' 

NATO announced Saturday it was suspending training missions in Iraq. The NATO mission in Iraq, which numbers in the hundreds, trains the country's security forces at the request of the Baghdad government to prevent the return of the Islamic State group. 

As tensions soared across the region, there were reports overnight of an airstrike on a convoy of Iran-backed militiamen north of Baghdad.

Hours later, the Iraqi army denied any airstrike had taken place. The U.S.-led coalition also denied carrying out any airstrike.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of mostly Iran-backed militias, and security officials had reported the airstrike in Taji, north of the capital. An Iraqi security official had said five people were killed and two vehicles were destroyed.

It was not immediately clear if another type of explosion had occurred.