Stampede at Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani's funeral kills at least 56

Kim Hjelmgaard | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Stampede at Qasem Soleimani's funeral kills at least 40 At least 40 people were killed and over 200 injured in a stampede that erupted at a funeral procession for Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Iranian state TV reported Tuesday that at least 56 people were killed and 213 injured in a stampede at a funeral procession for the nation's slain Gen. Qasem Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman in southeastern Iran.

Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump.

A procession in Tehran on Monday drew more than 1 million people in Iran's capital, crowding main thoroughfares and side streets. Emergency services in Kerman blamed high levels of congestion and overcrowding for the deaths.

Click 'play' above to hear USA TODAY's Kim Hjelmgaard put Soleimani's funeral crowds in context.

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Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said authorities later delayed Soleimani’s burial because of concerns about the massive crowd.

It did not say when the burial would take place.

Soleimani's killing has reignited fears Tehran and Washington could be on the brink of a military confrontation. Both sides say they want to avoid war. Iran has pledged revenge for the death of one its most revered commanders, and it has indicated it could take the form of a military strike against U.S. forces. And speaking in a cable news interview Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, "We are not looking to start a war with Iran, but we are prepared to finish one."

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Soleimani headed the Quds Force, an elite wing of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Quds orchestrates Iran's deep ties to non-state armed militants groups in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, with whom Soleimani was holding meetings when he was killed in the U.S. strike near Baghdad's airport Friday.

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Among other Iran-related developments: