Iran holds state funeral for top brass slain in war with Israel
The proceedings started at 8:00 am local time (0430 GMT) in the capital Tehran as government offices and many businesses were closed on Saturday for the occasion.
"The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started," state TV said, showing footage of thousands of people donning black clothes, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain military commanders.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other senior government officials and military commanders, including Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards,
also attended the event.
Images showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in uniform near Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where the march began.
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Sharjah 24
5 hours ago
- Sharjah 24
Iran holds state funeral for top brass slain in war with Israel
The proceedings started at 8:00 am local time (0430 GMT) in the capital Tehran as government offices and many businesses were closed on Saturday for the occasion. "The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started," state TV said, showing footage of thousands of people donning black clothes, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain military commanders. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other senior government officials and military commanders, including Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, also attended the event. Images showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in uniform near Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where the march began.
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
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Thousands mourn top Iranian military commanders, scientists killed in Israeli strikes
Thousands of mourners lined the streets of downtown Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard and other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during a 12-day war with Israel. The caskets of Guard's chief Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh and others were driven on trucks along the capital's Azadi Street as people in the crowds chanted: "Death to America' and "Death to Israel.' Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched a war it said meant to destroy Iran's nuclear program, specifically targeting military commanders, scientists and nuclear facilities. There was no immediate sign of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral. Khamenei, who has not made a public appearance since before the outbreak of the war, has in past funerals held prayers for fallen commanders over their caskets before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television. Mourners stand next to the coffin of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami (front), and other military commanders killed during Israeli strikes on Friday. AFP Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group. Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people. Saturday's ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children. Authorities closed government offices to allow public servants to attend the ceremonies. Mourners gather around the flag-draped coffins of the Iranian armed forces generals, nuclear scientists and their family members on the trucks in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday. AP Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. But Israel views it as an existential threat and said its military campaign was necessary to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon. Khamenei's last public appearance was June 11, two days before hostilities with Israel broke out, when he met with Iranian parliamentarians. On Thursday, however, he released a pre-recorded video, in his first message since the end of the war, filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic's longtime adversaries. The 86-year-old downplayed U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites as having not achieved "anything significant' and claimed victory over Israel. The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, has characterized the damage done by American bunker-buster bombs to Iran's Fordo nuclear site, which was built into a mountain, as "very, very, very considerable.' Associated Press
Al Etihad
7 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Iran holds state funeral for slain leaders
28 June 2025 11:29 TEHRAN (AFP)Iran began a state funeral service Saturday in Tehran for around 60 people, including military commanders killed in its conflict with proceedings started at 8:00am local time (0430 GMT) in the capital Tehran, with government offices and many businesses closed on Saturday for the occasion."The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started," state TV said, showing footage of thousands waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain military President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other senior government officials and military commanders also attended the the 60 people who are to be laid to rest after the ceremony, four are children and four are women. The Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures.
