Thousands of mourning Iranians came to the funeral of Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and the country's most powerful general. Soleimani was killed in a targeted American airstrike in Baghdad, executed on President Donald Trump's orders.
Iranian generals, in turn, called for retaliation and vowed to get revenge.
Mr. Trump responded to Iran's retaliation threats with a tweet, warning that the US would target 52 Iranian sites - including those of cultural importance - if the state retaliates for the strike. The number 52 served as a reference to 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days between 1979 and 1981.
"Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD," Mr. Trump posted on his Twitter account.
"Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655 Never threaten the Iranian nation," Iran's President Hassan Rouhani replied. Rouhani referred to the Iran Air Flight 655, a passenger jet that was shot down by American missiles in 1988, killing all 290 people on board.
While mutual threats foster growing fears of a full-blown war with Iran, the region's instability could also prove favorable for ISIS. After Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi's was fast announced as al-Baghdadi's successor, the terrorist group's plans and the new "caliph's" true identity remained unknown.