Tehran, Jan 5 (TIWN) The remains of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike, arrived in Iran on Sunday for a series of funeral processions across the country.

Soleimani was killed along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), an Iran-backed umbrella organisation comprising several militias. Several other people were also killed in Friday's attack.  The move by the US has drawn worldwide condemnation from leaders and officials who fear that tensions in the region could escalate drastically. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that "a harsh retaliation is waiting".   On Saturday, US President Donald Trump threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites "very hard" if Iran attacked US citizens or assets.