TEHRAN-(DNA) – Mourners packed the streets of Tehran on Monday for ceremonies to pay homage to top Iranian military commander Qasim Sulemani, after he was killed in a US strike in Baghdad.

Clutching portraits of their hero, the crowd gathered at Tehran University before supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided over prayers for the slain general, DNA correspondents reported.

Sulemani, who spearheaded Iran’s Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike Friday near Baghdad airport.

His assassination ratcheted up tensions between arch-enemies Tehran and Washington.

Iran said late Sunday it was further rolling back its commitments to a nuclear deal already in tatters since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in May 2018.

In freezing early morning temperatures, women in black walked alongside men holding up flags bearing the names of Shiite imams as they walked down Tehran’s Enghelab (Revolution) Street towards the university.

“Down with USA,” said a placard held up by a young woman wearing a black chadour.

The procession was broadcast live on state television, with screens bearing a black ribbon across the top left hand corner in a rare tribute.

Khamenei appeared to cry as he prayed over the flag-draped coffins containing the remains of Sulemani and five other “martyrs” killed in the strike.