Stampede at Funeral Procession for Iranian Commander Kills 32

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At least 32 people died in a stampede at a funeral procession for Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as Iranian authorities struggled to manage the large crowds rallying against the U.S.’s targeted killing of the powerful military leader.

Another 190 people were injured in the panicked crowd in Iran’s Kerman province, where Gen. Soleimani was set to be buried Tuesday, according to Iranian state television.
His burial was postponed because the large crowds at the funeral procession prevented vehicles from reaching the cemetery, organizers said.

Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, told state TV that the stampede was caused by overcrowding at the funeral procession and that there was no indication of an attack on the funeral. Officials initially reported that 35 people had been killed, and then revised the death toll to 32.

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In apparent preparation for a response to the killing, Iran’s parliament also passed a bill Tuesday designating the entire U.S. military a terrorist organization. The measure mirrors a step taken by the Trump administration last year when it branded the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. Gen. Soleimani was the commander of the guard’s foreign wing, the Quds Force.

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