‘Death to America' chants ring out at funeral for Iranian commanders killed in war as Trump warns US would bomb again
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THE mass funeral for the Iranian commanders wiped out in the war has been plagued by "Death to America" chants and the burning of Israeli flags.
Over a million people have reportedly lined the streets of Tehran just hours after Donald Trump warned he would bomb the evil regime again if they ever cross the US.
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Over a million people have reportedly lined the streets of Tehran for the funeral of Iranian commanders
Credit: Getty
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Iranians burn the Israeli flag during the funeral
Credit: AFP
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Twisted chants of 'Death to America' could be heard ringing out across the event
Credit: Getty
Twisted chants of "Death to America" could be heard ringing out across the event today as pro-Ayatollah mourners flocked to the public procession.
The caskets of top military commanders and nuclear scientists all eliminated by Israel during the gruelling 12-day war were all hauled through the capital.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps chief General Hossein Salami - known as one of Iran's most powerful military leaders - and General Amir Ali Hajizadeh were among the bodies being laid to rest.
Both were directly targeted by Israel for their role in developing Tehran's ballistic missile program.
The two twisted generals were taken out within hours of the conflict kicking off on June 13.
Some mourners even started to trample on the flags of Israel and the US as the caskets came past with others setting them alight.
It comes amid a surging number of Iranians who are turning against the evil regime following the war.
Many have voiced their issues with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was again nowhere to be seen at the funeral.
The cowering 86-year-old hasn't been seen in person for almost two weeks now and is said to have been forced into a secret bunker amid threats on his life from both Trump and Israel.
The US president has even claimed he saved the Ayatollah from an "ugly death" by ordering Israeli jets to turn around mid-air during an attack.
Funeral-goers at one point pledged their allegiance to the twisted leader as they chanted: 'Oh noble Leader, we are ready!"
Around 60 caskets were wheeled out with many being draped in the national colours of red, white and green.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi - now among the most high-profile names in Tehran's cabinet - led the procession.
He made a rare admission as he said the number of lives lost in the short-lived conflict is 'hard and painful'.
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Smoke could be seen at the ceremony
Credit: Getty
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Western Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Glastonbury says chants by Bob Vylan ‘crossed the line' as police assess footage
The performer Bobby Vylan led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of 'Death, death to the IDF' on Saturday, before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance. A joint Instagram post from Glastonbury and Emily Eavis said: 'As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. 'We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love. 'With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer's presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs. 'However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. 'Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting said chants of 'death' to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at Glastonbury were 'appalling' and that the BBC and festival have 'questions to answer'. As police examine videos of their comments, Mr Streeting told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: 'I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens.' He said what people should be talking about in the context of Israel and Gaza is the humanitarian catastrophe and the fact that Israeli settlers attacked a Christian village this week. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the BBC and the festival have 'questions to answer' (Lucy North/PA) He added: 'The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival, when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive, whether it's a Palestinian or an Israeli, whether it's a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, all life is precious. 'All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team.' Asked if the BBC should have cut the live feed, he said the broadcaster has questions to answer, but that he did not know what the editorial and operational 'challenges' are of taking such action. Avon and Somerset Police said video evidence would be assessed by officers 'to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation'. Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival (Ben Birchall/PA) On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes 'grotesque', writing on X: 'Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.' The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would be formally complaining to the BBC over its 'outrageous decision' to broadcast Bob Vylan. A spokesperson said: 'Our national broadcaster must apologise for its dissemination of this extremist vitriol, and those responsible must be removed from their positions.' A BBC spokesperson added: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. 'During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine'. In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'. During the performance, Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.' He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Don't count on the Iran-Israel ceasefire lasting. What Netanyahu really wants is a forever war
The war is over! Except it's not, not by a long chalk. The verbally agreed Iran-Israel ceasefire could be ripped to shreds at any moment. An aggressive theocratic regime still holds power in Tehran. The same is true of Jerusalem. In Washington, a president whose stupidity is matched only by his vanity prattles about making peace, but the angry old men in charge have learned nothing. Meanwhile, hundreds of civilians lie dead, thousands are wounded and millions have been terrorised. The war is over! Except only the naive believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister and prime warmonger, is done fighting. Even if Donald Trump is right and Iran's nuclear facilities have been 'obliterated' ('severely damaged' appears more accurate), its nuclear knowhow and elusive stockpile of enriched uranium have not. At the first sign, real or imagined, of rebuilding, Netanyahu and his cronies will surely attack again. Trump called them off last week. But this is a man who can change his mind three times before he's even had breakfast. Who seriously believes Netanyahu will readily relinquish the dominance over Iran's airspace that his forces have established with unexpected ease? It's unlikely he will be able to resist the temptation to target Iran again, if fresh attacks are politically advantageous. Netanyahu is now reportedly weighing up the possibility of a snap election. Perhaps he hopes his Iran exploits will obscure his 7 October 2023 failures and abandonment of hostages held by Hamas. There is a pattern here. Since March, when he unilaterally wrecked the Gaza ceasefire, Netanyahu has sought to subjugate the territory. Palestinian civilians have been gunned down in repeated Israeli army and settler atrocities around Gaza food centres and in towns in the West Bank. In places such as Rafah, Bloody Sunday takes place almost every day. In Lebanon and Syria, Israel has dropped bombs with impunity. Netanyahu's military grinder never stops. Why imagine that he will be any different with Iran? Most people deplore 'forever wars', typified by dismal, multi-year western entanglements in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not Netanyahu. Peace is his enemy. Forever war keeps him in power, in the limelight and out of jail. Like Vladimir Putin, he sees continuing war as an opportunity to boost domestic support and outflank his opponents. Unending state violence is deadly for democracy, legality and good governance (and on this note, Americans should worry, too: Trump's presidency is on a similar trajectory, except his forever war is against the 'enemy within'). Despite Netanyahu's video appeal to the Iranian public in which he encouraged them to 'stand up' against an 'evil and oppressive regime', he cares little for their freedom. What he wants is what imperialist powers always want: a permanently weakened, divided, degraded country that poses no challenge to Israel's strategic interests and can be punished at will. By controlling Iranian skies and pursuing covert cyber-attacks, sabotage and assassinations, Israel could ensure an enfeebled Iran is held in check indefinitely – or so Netanyahu may calculate. The war is over … except it's not in Tehran, either. Rattled by talk of regime change and Israel's killing of prominent allies, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged from his bunker to wage another war, on his own people. Hundreds have been arrested in a security crackdown. Alleged spies have been executed. In order to survive, the mullahs may now do what they have never done before: secretly race to build a nuclear weapon, or buy one off the shelf from North Korea. In truth, Iran's loathsome regime didn't even come close to falling. If anything, Israel's bombs rallied public support and patriotic sentiment. Iran was attacked on the basis of a lie (neither US intelligence nor the UN backed Netanyahu's claim that it was weaponising) and European governments failed to condemn the bombing. These facts will only deepen distrust of the west. Iran wants relief from US sanctions, and may agree to discuss this, but not its future nuclear activities. It is suspending cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. Rejecting Israeli containment, Tehran may in time resume asymmetrical conflict and revive regional proxy wars. The war isn't over for Trump either (though, beguiled by delusions of a Nobel peace prize, he may think it is). He has demonstrated, as in Ukraine and Gaza, that his impulsive, unthinking, uninformed interventions only make the world more dangerous. He's made it harder for the US to walk away if war flares up again. His sneak attack on Iran, reminiscent of Pearl Harbor, breached the UN charter and will help rogue states justify illegal aggression. By continuing to aid and abet Netanyahu, an alleged war criminal, Trump is opening himself up to prosecution by the international criminal court. Trump has trashed multilateral diplomacy, sidelined and insulted European allies, relied on rookie envoys and rejected expert advice. His manifest untrustworthiness and monstrous egotism are all additional reasons why the US cannot be counted on. War across the Middle East is barely on hold. Trump took a shot at instant glory – and missed. The utter futility and pointlessness of this war is breathtaking. It achieved almost nothing positive. It caused misery, destruction and insecurity. Only rarely does brute force advance peaceful ends. Typically it inflames existing problems – and that's what happened here. When will these angry old men get it? Probably never, unless and until democrats summon the courage to defy them. Simon Tisdall is a Guardian columnist
ITV News
29 minutes ago
- ITV News
Glastonbury Festival 'appalled' by Bob Vylan's chants of 'death to the IDF' during performance
Glastonbury Festival has said it is "appalled" by the comments made by Bobby Vylan, of punk duo Bob Vylan, during their set on Saturday, adding that they "very much crossed the line". The performer led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of "death, death to the IDF'. It came before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance. Avon and Somerset Police said they are assessing video evidence to "determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.' In a post on Instagram, the festival said they stand "against all forms of war and terrorism". They added: "We are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. "Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting also called the chants "appalling", adding that the BBC and festival have 'questions to answer'. Speaking on Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Streeting said: 'I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens.' He added: 'The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival, when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive, whether it's a Palestinian or an Israeli, whether it's a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, all life is precious. 'All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team.' On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'. In a statement, it said: "Chants such as 'Death to the IDF,' and 'From the river to the sea' are slogans that advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel and implicitly call for the elimination of Jewish self-determination. "When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes 'grotesque', writing on X: 'Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.' The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would be formally complaining to the BBC over its 'outrageous decision' to broadcast Bob Vylan. A spokesperson said: 'Our national broadcaster must apologise for its dissemination of this extremist vitriol, and those responsible must be removed from their positions.' A BBC spokesperson said: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. 'During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a government spokesperson said. The rap-trio Kneecap have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. He denies the charges. In reference to his bandmate's forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine'. In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'. During the performance, Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.' He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.
