Kerman: A stampede at the funeral for a top Iranian general killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more on Tuesday in the southeastern city of Kerman, state television reported.
"A number of citizens who were taking part in the funeral procession were injured and a number lost their lives," the head of the country's emergency services, Pirhossein Koolivand, told the channel.
AFP correspondents in Kerman said the streets of the southeastern city were packed with mourners for the funeral of Republican Guards commander Qasem Soleimani in his hometown.
Soleimani, the hugely popular head of the Guards' Quds Force, was assassinated on Friday in a US drone strike near Baghdad international airport, in an operation that shocked the country.
Tuesday's funeral comes after days of processions through the streets of Ahvaz in southwestern Ian, the capital Tehran, the holy city of Qom and far northwestern city of Mashhad.
Reuters reported that state media said the funeral would be postponed owing to the deaths in the stampede.
