Iranian Military Leader Vows to Set Americans ‘Ablaze’: Live Updates

Embassies warn Americans of potential mortar, rocket, missile and drone attacks.

In Jerusalem and elsewhere across the Middle East, United States embassies warned Americans of potential attacks from Iran, as Iranian generals vowed to avenge the senior commander killed in an American drone strike.

In Jerusalem, the embassy told Americans on Monday to watch out for “mortars and rocket fire.” A day earlier, the United States Mission in Saudi Arabia had warned citizens to be prepared for “missile and drone attacks.”

The security alerts follow the targeted killing on Friday of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the leading figure in Iran’s foreign-facing intelligence and military operations.

At General Suleimani’s funeral in Tehran on Monday, military commanders promised vengeance. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told advisers that any retaliation against the United States should be direct, proportional and carried out openly by Iran.

That is a startling departure for the Iranian leadership, which has typically cloaked its attacks behind the actions of proxies it has cultivated around the region. But in the fury generated by the killing of General Suleimani, a close ally and personal friend of the supreme leader, the ayatollah was apparently willing to cast aside those traditional cautions.

In Israel, the United States Embassy on Monday issued a security alert for the entire country and warned Americans of potential mortar and rocket attacks.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy strongly encourages U.S. citizens to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness, as security incidents, including rocket fire, often take place without warning,” the embassy said in an alert published on its website.

The United States Mission to Saudi Arabia on Sunday warned Americans in the kingdom to be aware of a “heightened risk of missile and drone attacks.”

American embassies across the region have been on heightened alert since Dec. 31, when militants, backed by the Iranian government, stormed the embassy in Baghdad. President Trump said the assault was organized by General Suleimani.

Last week, embassies in Beirut, Lebanon, and Baghdad issued security alerts.

Iran issues new threats as general’s body is laid to rest.

In a fiery speech made moments before the body of General Suleimani was buried in Kerman, his hometown, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to “set ablaze” places where Americans and their allies live.

“We will take revenge,” the paramilitary group’s leader, Hossein Salami, said Tuesday in a front of a crowd of mourners. “We will set ablaze where they live.”

The pledge to seek vengeance echoed the blood-soaked rhetoric of many of the country’s leaders since General Suleimani’s killing on Friday.

“Death to Israel,” the crowd chanted back, according to news reports. Israel, an ally of the United States, has long been a foe of Iran.

Thousands of mourners, dressed in black and carrying photos General Suleimani, crowded the central square of the town, where the general’s body was taken for burial after a funeral procession on Monday in Tehran, the capital, which was attended by at least a million people.

Before arriving in Kerman, the general’s remains were taken to the holy city of Qom, where thousands of residents came out, hoping for a chance to touch the coffin of a man the state has declared a martyr.

On Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei wept and offered prayers over the coffin of General Suleimani at a massive state funeral. The ayatollah had a close relationship with the general, who was widely considered to be the second most powerful man in Iran.

General Suleimani’s successor swore revenge during Monday’s ceremony, while chants of “Death to America” rang out from the crowds in the capital.

State-run news outlets reported that millions had gathered in Tehran, and images showed a sea of mourners, many wearing black and waving the Iranian flag.

“God the almighty has promised to get his revenge, and God is the main avenger,” said Esmail Ghaani, the Iranian general who will succeed General Suleimani as head of the Quds Force, the foreign expeditionary arm of the Revolutionary Guard. “Certainly, actions will be taken,” he added.

Reporting was contributed by Russell Goldman, Farnaz Fassihi, David D. Kirkpatrick, Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman, Alissa J. Rubin, Ben Hubbard, Mark Landler, Helene Cooper and Thomas Gibbons-Neff