Mike Pompeo has accused European allies of not being 'helpful enough' following the assassination of Iran's general Qassem Soleimani.

The US secretary of state expressed his disappointment with the UK, France and Germany, saying the major NATO allies had not been 'as helpful as I wish that they could be'.

However, he heaped praise on regional allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which had all been 'fantastic'.

After missiles fell in Baghdad near the US embassy and at Balad airbase, where US soldiers are reportedly based, this evening the UK sent HMS Montrose and HMS Defender into the Persian Gulf to protect merchant shipping.

The UK's foreign minister, Dominic Raab, will meet Pompeo in Washington on Thursday, after German and French counterparts meet him earlier in the week.

US Secretary of State has accused the UK, France and Germany of not being 'helpful enough' over the assassination of Qassem Suleimani. (Pictured in Washington on 19 December 2019

His words come after a funeral procession for assassinated Qassem Soleimani was held in Baghdad today, and the country declared three days of national mourning

'I spent the last day and a half, two days, talking to partners in the region, sharing with them what we were doing, why we were doing it, seeking their assistance,' Pompeo told Fox News.

'They've all been fantastic. And then talking to our partners in other places that haven't been quite as good.

'Frankly, the Europeans haven't been as helpful as I wish that they could be. The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well.

'Qassem Soleimani led and his IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard) led assassination campaigns in Europe. This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the United States is trying to do to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to simply behave like a normal nation.'

Western allies have responded with caution to the US attack at Baghdad airport, and have continued to support Obama's Iranian nuclear deal.

Pompeo did, however, heap praise on regional allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. (Pictured at a press conference in Washington, 11 December last year)

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

The UK was not warned that the US was carrying out the attack, despite having soldiers in the region.

Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also ordered two warships - a type 23 frigate and a type 45 destroyer - into the Persian Gulf this evening to protect 'our ships and citizens'.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will fly home from his holiday in Mustique tomorrow as he faces the biggest test of diplomacy in his premiership so far.

Iran has already alleged it has identified 35 potential targets for retaliatory strikes.

Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif mocked Pompeo as an 'arrogant clown' and said that work to end 'US malign presence in West Asia had begun'.

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

'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.'

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.

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.

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.