About 50 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds injured during the burial of slain Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani.
Qasem Soleimani was eliminated by a US commissioned drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on Friday.
A state affiliated media agency reported that government authorities had suspended the burial owing to the aftermath of the stampede.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered in the southeastern city of Kerman to pay tribute to the fallen General.
The death of Qasem Soleimani has threatened to plunge the Middle East region into a new Geo-political crisis and raised fears of a broader conflict.
Tuesday’s stampede broke out amid the crush of mourners, killing at least 50 people and injuring more than 200 others, an emergency services official told the semi-official Fars news agency.
Iran’s ISNA news agency said the burial of Soleimani had been indefinitely postponed.
“Today because of the heavy congestion of the crowd unfortunately a number of our fellow citizens who were mourning were injured and a number were killed,” emergency medical services chief Pirhossein Kolivand told state television.
The body of Soleimani, a national hero whose death has united many Iranians, had been taken to Iraqi and Iranian cities before arriving in Kerman for burial.
Soleimani, who commanded the elite Quds Force, was responsible for building up Tehran’s network of proxy armies across the Middle East. He was a key figure in orchestrating Iran’s long-standing campaign to drive U.S. forces out of Iraq
In each place, huge numbers of people filled thoroughfares, chanting “Death to America” and weeping with emotion. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shed tears when leading prayers in Tehran.
Additional reporting from Reuters.
