Tehran, January 6 (RHC)-- Millions of Iranians packed the streets of Tehran to pay homage to General Qassem Soleimani who was assassinated on the orders of U.S. President Donald Trump last Friday.

A huge sea of mourners, streaming from all the adjoining streets in freezing temperatures, descended on the iconic Engelab Square in central Tehran Monday morning before rallying to Azadi Tower in the capital's west.

Chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," they carried portraits of their national hero whose assassination in a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad airport has generated an outpouring of anger and patriotism across Iran and elsewhere, with vociferous calls for revenge.

A correspondent for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said he had not seen such a crowd in 20 years in Tehran, where important occasions usually draw people in millions.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei led the prayers over the general's coffin and the remains of his companions at Tehran University.

The coffins of Gen. Soleimani and Iraq's anti-terror commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also assassinated in Friday’s attack, were draped in their national flags and passed from hand to hand across the heads of mourners.