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Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) spokesman Brigadier-General Ramezan Sharif has said the US and Israel will receive a "tough response" for killing the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani.

"Today, the Israelis and Americans have committed a blatant crime at odds with all international regulations and laws and they should rest assured that they will receive a tough response," he said on television this morning.

Iran considers Israel its arch-foe, and has long accused it of being behind attacks against Iran.

He added that, while IRGC members are currently in mourning, "their determination to take revenge on the usurper Zionist and criminal America will be greater".

"Certainly the momentary joy of the Americans and Zionists will not last long and will turn into mourning," Sharif added.

Sharif went on to say that the IRGC will "begin a new chapter" after the death of Soleimani and that there are many eager to carry on his legacy.

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

Iran’s most powerful military figure was regarded as the strategic mastermind behind its vast ambition in the Middle East, the commander of elite special forces who orchestrated covert operations, including a web of proxy militias, across the region.

He also commanded political influence inside Iran, regarded as second only to Iran’s all-powerful Supreme Leader.

The silver-haired general with a close cropped beard was a cult hero for his fighters, the face of evil for his foes. For years, US officials considered killing a cunning adversary who ordered attacks on their forces, taunting them with selfies on front lines and social media barbs.

At times their aims were aligned – including the fight against the Islamic State group – but they remained sworn enemies.

Iranian officials are categorical - this is an act of war to be met by “harsh retaliation.” Iran has many ways and means to strike back as a long-simmering crisis suddenly and sharply escalates into a different and dangerous chapter.

The former US director of national intelligence has said he does not see "any way that Iran will not react" to the death of Gen Soleimani, and that he believes Americans in the region are in jeopardy.

"In terms of the implications [the strike is going to be] hugely disruptive in the region," James Clapper said.

"I trust that Americans in the region, either military or diplomats, or non-official Americans for that matter... are on heightened alert because I think they're in jeopardy."

China has called for all sides, "especially the United States", to show restraint following Gen Soleimani's death.

"China has always opposed the use of force in international relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing.

"We urge the relevant sides, especially the United States, to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid further escalating tensions," he said.

China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a major buyer of Iran's oil.

Late on Thursday in Washington DC, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said that while Gen Soleimani was "a murderer", the decision to kill him was "a reckless move".

Her comments echo the sentiment of her rival Joe Biden, who is slightly ahead in the polls for the Democratic primary election.

Jeremy Bowen
BBC Middle East editor

The killing of Qasem Soleimani removes one of the Americans' most obdurate and effective enemies and delivers a blow to the heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is also a dangerous escalation in a region that was already tense and full of violence. Iran has sworn vengeance.

The conflict between the US and Iran was already a war fought in the shadows. Now it could explode and spread.

Soleimani and a close Iraqi ally were killed at Baghdad airport in a strike the US called decisive defensive action. The Pentagon, the US defence department, said Soleimani was planning more attacks on US diplomats and service members in Iraq.

President Trump, without comment, tweeted a picture of a big American flag.

The Americans and their allies in Israel and the West have tracked Soleimani closely for years. It’s likely that he has been in their sights before. The fact that this time the Americans pulled the trigger suggests that President Trump believes the reward is worth the risk, that the Iranian regime has been so weakened by isolation, economic sanctions, and recent demonstrations that it will rage but not offer a serious strategic threat.

Soleimani was a colossal figure inside Iran. He was its strategic mastermind. Perhaps he left a plan of steps to take if he was killed. The Iranian regime is certain to want to answer his death, to show that the position that Soleimani spent so long creating outside its borders in the Middle East can be defended.

Rallies organised by the government will be held across Iran today to "express anger at the United States" following Gen Soleimani's death.

State-run news channel IRINN said people across the country would hold "anti-American, anti-Zionist" rallies after Friday prayers.

"Following the martyrdom of General Soleimani, demonstrations will be held throughout Tehran Province today," the head of the Islamic Propagation Coordination Council of Tehran, Hojjat-ol-Eslam Mohsen Mahmoudi, was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.

"The rage against the United States must resonate across Iran."

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has condemned the "assassination" of Gen Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

He said the strike was "a dangerous escalation that is the spark of a devastating war in Iraq," the state-owned Iraqia News reported.

He added that the strike violated the conditions of the US military's presence in Iraq and called on parliament to hold an extraordinary session.

Russia's foreign ministry has said it views the "murder of Soleimani by a US strike as a reckless step that will lead to a rise in tension in the whole region".

"Soleimani loyally served the cause of defending Iran’s national interests. We express sincere condolences to the Iranian people," it added.

The US Embassy in Baghdad has urged American citizens to "depart Iraq immediately" following the strike.

US Democratic presidential frontrunner and former Vice President Joe Biden posted a statement on Twitter responding to the strike.

He described the attack as a "hugely escalatory move in an already dangerous region" and said President Donald Trump had "tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox".

"We could be on the brink of a major conflict across the Middle East," he wrote.

Three days of national mourning have been declared in Iran for the top general.

A government spokesman said the country's top security body would meet today to discuss the "criminal act" that led to his death.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said "severe revenge awaits the criminals" behind the strike, while Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called it an "act of international terrorism".

The death of the general has also dominated Iranian media, which has paid tribute to him for his military life and particularly his involvement in the wars in Iraq and Syria.

The general is being remembered as a martyr and several TV channels have put a black diagonal band in the upper-left corner of their screens in his honour.

The Persian hashtag #harsh_vengeance, external has been trending since news of Gen Soleimani's death was confirmed.

"Qassem Soleimani has joined his martyred brothers," wrote Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

"Cannot stop crying, external," wrote well-known freelance military journalist Hossein Dalirian, who used to work for the IRGC-linked hardline news agency Tasnim.

In a televised interview, Tehran University Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi warned that vengeance would be forthcoming and advised all Western civilians, especially Americans, to leave the Middle East immediately.

The 62-year-old was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran behind the Ayatollah Khamenei.

Gen Soleimani's Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the Ayatollah, and he spearheaded military operations across the Middle East.

Iran has acknowledged the role of the Quds Force in the conflicts in Syria, where it has advised forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and in Iraq, where it has backed a Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped tackle IS.

But while he was hailed as a heroic national figure, the US called Gen Soleimani and his Quds Force terrorists, holding them responsible for the deaths of hundreds of US personnel.

Find out more about Gen Soleimani

Image source, EPA

Following the strike, US President Donald Trump shared a picture of the US flag on Twitter.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared a video of what appears to be Iraqis carrying a giant Iraqi flag through the street. He said they were "thankful that General Soleimani is no more".

Image source, AFP

• US media reports say Gen Soleimani and representatives from Iran-backed militias were leaving Baghdad airport in two cars when they were hit by a US drone strike.
• Several missiles reportedly struck the convoy and at least five people, including Gen Soleimani, are reported to have died.
• Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also among those killed.
• The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Qasem Soleimani. It said the action was aimed at "deterring future Iranian attack plans".
• The strike came days after protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces. The Pentagon said Gen Soleimani approved the attack.
• Iran has dubbed Friday's strike an "act of international terrorism" and vowed to take revenge.

Read more

Follow us here for live coverage of the death of Iran’s most powerful general, Qasem Soleimani.

The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force was killed by US forces in an airstrike at Baghdad's international airport early on Friday.

Iran has vowed “severe revenge” for the killing.

Follow us here for the latest reactions and analysis.

Image source, EPA