People hold posters of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander, during a mourning ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 3, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

A tide of mourners wept and beat their chests in the Iranian city of Ahvaz on Sunday, paying homage to top general Qasem Soleimani, after he was killed in a US strike in Baghdad, Iraq.

"Death to America," they chanted at a mass gathering in the southwestern city, where Soleimani's remains arrived from Iraq before dawn, according to semi­official news agency ISNA.

Packing the streets as Shiite chants resonated in the air, mourners held up portraits of Soleimani, seen as a hero of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and for spearheading Iran's Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike on Friday near Baghdad international airport, shocking the Islamic republic. He was 62.

The air strike was ordered by US President Donald Trump, who said the Iranian general had been planning an "imminent" attack on US diplomats and the roughly 5,200 US troops deployed in Baghdad.

Soleimani's assassination ratcheted up tensions between the archenemies and sparked fears of a new war in the Middle East.

On Sunday, thousands of mourners dressed in black were seen gathered in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz in a live broadcast on state television.

The channel showed crowds gathered in Mollavi Square with flags in green, white and red - depicting the blood of "martyrs."

Aerial footage showed a tide of mourners crammed into the square and the surrounding streets of downtown Ahvaz, a city of 1.3 million people.

"The presence of children, teenagers, relatives, veterans, families of martyrs [of the Iran-Iraq war] and defenders of Haram [those martyred in Syria] is a glimpse of the glory of this ceremony," said state television.

In Tehran, members of parliament chanted "Death to America" for a few minutes during a regular session, ISNA reported.

"Trump, this is the voice of the Iranian nation, listen," speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying.

Soleimani's remains and those of five other Iranians - all Revolutionary Guards members - killed in the US drone strike had arrived at Ahvaz airport before dawn, ISNA said.

With them were the remains of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy ­commander of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary umbrella group, who was also killed in the US strike.