Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, has called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo an 'arrogant clown,' while also ominously stating that the 'End of US malign presence in West Asia has begun,' in the wake of Saturday's funeral processions for slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

'24 hrs ago, an arrogant clown— masquerading as a diplomat— claimed people were dancing in the cities of Iraq,' Zarif tweeted Saturday.

'Today, hundreds of thousands of our proud Iraqi brothers and sisters offered him their response across their soil. End of US malign presence in West Asia has begun.'

Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, took to Twitter Saturday after the funeral procession of slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

Zarif's tweet referred to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as 'an arrogant clown'

Author Hooman Majd tweeted about Zarif's name-calling regarding Pompeo

Iranians took part in an anti-US rally in Tehran Saturday in protest of Soleimani's killing

Zarif's tweet was accompanied by a five-photo collage showing hordes of people waving flags and filling the streets. One image showed what appeared to be mourners walking behind a flag-draped coffin.

Zarif's tweet appeared to refer to a tweet Pompeo had posted Thursday night - early Friday morning in Baghdad.

In his tweet, Pompeo wrote: 'Iraqis — Iraqis — dancing in the street for freedom; thankful that General Soleimani is no more.'

Pompeo's tweet was accompanied by a video showing people cheering and running through the still-dark street, lifting a giant flag overhead.

Thousands of furious mourners thronged in the streets of Baghdad Saturday during funeral processions for Soleimani - the architect of Iran's global military strategy - and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Kataeb Hezbollah chief.

The mourners chanted 'Death to America' and 'America is the Great Satan' as they walked beside Soleimani and al-Muhandis' coffins.

Both men were killed while riding in a two-vehicle convoy which was decimated by three missiles from an American MQ-9 Reaper Drone in the early hours of Friday outside Baghdad International Airport.

Zarif's tweet was apparently in response to this tweet Pompeo posted Thursday - early Friday in Baghdad time - following news of Soleimani's death

President Donald Trump (left) said Friday he ordered the killing of Soleimani to prevent war. Pompeo (right) said, 'We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq but in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom'

Pompeo, speaking on Fox & Friends, said that Trump 'has been pretty clear. We don't seek war with Iran, but at the same time we are not going to stand by and watch the Iranians escalate and continue to put American lives at risk without responding in a way that disrupts, defends, deters and creates an opportunity to de-escalate this situation'

Iranian mourners were seen carrying flags and photos of Soleimani in Tehran Saturday

A scene from Soleimani and al-Muhandis' funeral procession in Baghdad Saturday

Mourners are seen here carrying Soleimani and al-Muhandis' coffins in Baghdad Saturday

Iraqi mourners took part in a symbolic funeral procession for al-Muhandis in Basra on Saturday

Mourners carry the coffins of al-Muhandis, Soleimani and eight others toward the Shrine of Imam Hussein in the holy Iraqi city of Karbala

Mourners gather during the funeral procession for al-Muhandis and Soleimani in Karbala

The strike - which also killed four more Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards and five members of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary network - infuriated Tehran, who vowed jihad on America.

Meanwhile Iraq, whose prime minister attended the funerals Saturday, threatened to order the expulsion of all US troops from the country after what it called 'a brazen violation of Iraq's sovereignty.'

President Donald Trump has said that he ordered the killing of Soleimani to prevent war, adding that the commander was plotting 'imminent and sinister' attacks against Americans.

'We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,' the president said in brief remarks at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo touted the administration's freedom argument when he went on the morning shows to talk about the airstrike.

'We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq but in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom,' Pompeo told CNN Friday morning.

'Freedom to have the opportunity for success and prosperity for their nations and while the political leadership may not want that, the people in these nations will demand it.'

Trump tweeted about Soleimani's death Friday morning, stating he was both 'hated and feared' in Iran and that Iranians are not 'nearly as saddened' as leaders are making them out to be

The death of Soleimani, who led the elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was a blow for Iran and an escalation on Trump's part of relations with Tehran, which have been strained since the death of an American contractor in Iraq in late December.

On Friday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visited Soleimani's family home. He offered the 62-year-old father-of-five's relatives condolences after vowing 'jihad' on America for the drone strike.

It comes as Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Tehran's UN ambassador, who represents Iran's only diplomatic mission within the US, told CNN Friday that the airstrike was 'tantamount to opening a war against Iran.'

'The US has already started a war against Iran, not just an economic war but something beyond that by assassinating one of our top generals,' Ravanchi said. 'There will be harsh revenge... The response for a military action is a military action.'

A US defense official told AFP Saturday that America would scale back military operations in Iraq and devote manpower to defending its bases and troops.

'We will conduct limited anti-Islamic State group operations with our security partners where it mutually supports our force protection efforts,' the official said. 'We have increased security and defensive measures at Iraqi bases that host coalition troops.'

NATO announced Saturday it was suspending training missions in Iraq. The NATO mission in Iraq, which numbers in the hundreds, trains the country's security forces at the request of the Baghdad government to prevent the return of the Islamic State group.

As tensions soared across the region, there were reports overnight of an airstrike on a convoy of Iran-backed militiamen north of Baghdad.

Hours later, the Iraqi army denied any airstrike had taken place. The U.S.-led coalition also denied carrying out any airstrike.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of mostly Iran-backed militias, and security officials had reported the airstrike in Taji, north of the capital. An Iraqi security official had said five people were killed and two vehicles were destroyed.

It was not immediately clear if another type of explosion had occurred.

The death of the top Iranian security and intelligence officer Soleimani has sparked concern that tension will escalate in the Middle East and caused U.S. officials to brace for possible retaliatory attacks.

The U.S. military's force protection condition level for troops in the Middle East has been raised to 'Charlie,' signalling that intelligence indicates a terrorist attack is imminent.

The strike has also frayed U.S. relations with Iraq, and that country's military it was a clear breach of U.S. status-of-forces agreements there.

Iraq's Ministry of Defense in an official statement called the slain al-Muhandis a 'hero martyr' and said he 'was martyred last night in a cowardly and treacherous attack carried out by American aircraft near Baghdad international airport.'

'We affirm that what happened is a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a clear breach by the American forces of their mandate which is exclusively to fight Islamic State and provide advice and assistance to Iraqi security forces,' the statement said.

Iraq's parliament has scheduled an emergency session on Sunday, and is expected to vote overwhelmingly to kick U.S. forces out of the country, where America has maintained a presence ever since the 2003 invasion.

The United States and its allies have suspended training of Iraqi forces due to the increased threat they face in the country, according to the German military.

Trump had tough words in the wake of the airstrike that killed Iran's top military general and defended his action as necessary for the safety of the United States.

'Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him. Under my leadership America's policy is unambiguous to terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American. We will find you. We will eliminate you. We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans and our allies,' Trump said.

And he vowed to take whatever action necessary to combat terrorism.

'The United States has the best military by far anywhere in the world. We have the best intelligence in the world. If Americans anywhere are threatened, we have all of those targets already fully identified and I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary. And that in particular refers to Iran,' he said.

'Under my leadership we have destroyed the ISIS territorial caliphate, and recently American special operations forces killed the terrorist leader known as al-Baghdadi. The world is a safer place without these monsters,' Trump added.

Later in a rally-like speech at a Miami mega-church he added: 'Qassem Soleimani has been killed and his bloody rampage is now, forever gone. He was plotting attacks against Americans but now we've insured his atrocities have been stopped for good.'

The president applauded Friday's 'flawless strike' at the Baghdad airport - that has thrown the Middle East into turmoil - while reminding the crowd he had killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi three months before.

At the same time as Trump spoke to evangelical supporters, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien told reporters that Soleimani was planning future action in the Middle East - but declined to say what it was.

'He had just come from Damascus where he was planning attacks on American soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors and against our diplomats. This strike was aimed at disrupting ongoing attacks that were being planned by Soleimani and deterring future Iranian attacks,' he said in a phone briefing.

He declined to offer details of what kind of attack was planned, calling the information 'extraordinarily sensitive.' He later said that 'at some point there may be something we can discuss.'

He also said Iranian leadership knew what Soleimani was planning.

'They know what they were up to. We have the right to self-defense, they understand that,' he said.

'This was designed to prevent further blood shed. This was a defensive action,' O'Brien said of the strike on Soleimani.

He urged Iran to sit down with the United States, to give up its nuclear program, stop its 'escapades' in Middle East, stop taking hostages and to 'behave like a normal nation.'

His lack of definitive information about an imminent threat is likely to be seized on by Democrats already furious that Congress was told nothing about the attack beforehand and has still to be briefed the day after.

And in the wake of Soleimani's death, the United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast even as officials said there is no indication of an imminent attack in the region. In January, Pompeo said that there were 5,000 US troops stationed in Iraq.

The troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and will join about 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who were deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after thousands of people stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

Trump has talked tough since Soleimani's death was announced by the Pentagon late Thursday night, boasting that the Iranian general should have been 'taken out many years ago.' The president accused him of killing thousands of Americans and claimed the people of Iraq don't want to be 'dominated and controlled' by Iran.

But the fallout from Soleimani's death was swift.

Tehran vowed 'harsh retaliation' for the killing of its most senior military leader and the State Department warned Americans to leave Iraq'immediately' amid fears of conflict in the region. Major U.S. cities went on heightened alert for possible retaliatory action.

The Department of Homeland Security put out a statement on Friday to say there were 'no specific, credible threats' against the U.S. but added it is monitoring the situation.

'While there are currently no specific, credible threats against our homeland, DHS continues to monitor the situation and work with our Federal, State and local partners to ensure the safety of every American,' Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement.

Additionally, U.S. stocks fell about 1 per cent at the market's opening in the wake of the news while oil prices surged. The price of gold, which investors buy in times of uncertainty, was up 1.6 per cent at $1,552.10 per ounce.

In his justification for the U.S. action, Trump cited Soleimani's ties to American deaths in the region, his crack down on protestors in Iran, and Iranian threats to its neighbor Iraq.

'General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more...but got caught! He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself,' the president tweeted Friday morning.

'While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!,' he added.

President Trump also referenced Iran's interference in Iraq in his explanation for Soleimani's death. Tehran has sent billions of dollars and many military advisers to Iraq to keep its Shia-led government in power.

The president portrayed himself as a liberator in the region, claiming the people of Iraq didn't want to 'dominated and controlled' by Iranian forces.

'The United States has paid Iraq Billions of Dollars a year, for many years. That is on top of all else we have done for them. The people of Iraq don't want to be dominated & controlled by Iran, but ultimately, that is their choice. Over the last 15 years, Iran has gained more and more control over Iraq, and the people of Iraq are not happy with that. It will never end well!,' he tweeted.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN Friday morning there was a threat of 'imminent' attack in the region but won't elaborate on the details.

The decision to launch the air strike 'saved American lives,' Pompeo told CNN's 'New Day,'' adding that 'dozens, if not hundreds' of American lives were at risk from 'imminent' attacks in which Soleimani was involved.

He also noted the administration is not seeking war with Iran.

'The president has been pretty clear. We don't seek war with Iran, but at the same time we are not going to stand by and watch the Iranians escalate and continue to put American lives at risk without responding in a way that disrupts, defends, deters and creates an opportunity to de-escalate this situation,' he told 'Fox & Friends.'

Soleimani was among eleven people 'torn to shreds' by three missiles fired from an MQ-9 Reaper drone on two vehicles in the early hours of Friday.

The commander was so badly maimed he could only be identified by the ruby ring he wore on his left hand.

The drone strike vaporized Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, which besieged the U.S. embassy in Baghdad earlier this week. His body could not be recovered.

CCTV footage filmed close to the airport and shared by Iraqi TV station AhadTV appears to show the moment Soleimani was killed.

It shows a large explosion as one of the two cars was destroyed by precision missiles early on Friday morning.

Brigadier General Hussein Jafari Nia and Major-General Hadi Taremi were named among the dead by the semi-official Fars agency, along with Colonel of the Guards Shahroud Mozaffari Nia and Captain Waheed Zamanian.

Mohammad al-Shibani, Muhandis's son-in-law, is also said to have died along with Heydar Ali, Muhammed Reza al-Jaberi and Hassan Abdul Hadi, all senior PMF figures, after being struck by one of three American guided missiles fired by a Reaper drone.