NATO expressed support for the US after being briefed on the nation"s drone strike which killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

The Atlantic alliance’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg called for a de-escalation in the crisis in the Middle East, as it insisted Iran “refrain from further violence and provocations”.

It comes as Iran mourned general Soleimani in a large ceremony, in which the country’s supreme leader wept by the former general"s casket, while tensions with the US rose.

Speaking after an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels this afternoon Stoltenberg distanced the alliance from Friday’s US air strike but reserved criticism solely for Tehran.

“We are united in condemning Iran’s support of a variety of different terrorist groups. At the meeting today, allies called for restraint and de-escalation. A new conflict would be in no one’s interest. So Iran must refrain from further violence and provocations… NATO training operations in Iraq were being suspended due to fallout from the US strike on Suleimani, but we want them to restart as soon as possible”, - concluded Stoltenberg.