Iran holds state funeral for slain military commanders and scientists
TEHRAN — Iran held a state funeral on Saturday for dozens of senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians killed during the 12-day war with Israel, which ended earlier this week in a US-brokered ceasefire.
Thousands of mourners gathered near Tehran's Enghelab Square, where coffins draped in Iranian flags and adorned with portraits of the dead were paraded through the crowd.
Authorities said 60 individuals, including top military and scientific figures, were buried.
Government offices were closed, and free transportation was offered to encourage public attendance.
Among the dead was Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's highest-ranking military officer and chief of staff of the armed forces.
He was laid to rest alongside his wife and daughter, who were killed in an Israeli strike.Other prominent figures buried included Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Azad University in Tehran.Iranian authorities said the overall death toll inside Iran reached 627 during the conflict, while Israeli officials reported 28 deaths following missile attacks launched by Iran.The funeral was attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Shamkhani sustained injuries in an earlier Israeli airstrike.The war, which saw U.S. forces intervene with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, has left diplomatic tensions at a boiling point.U.S. President Donald Trump said he would 'absolutely' consider future military action against Iran if intelligence suggested Tehran was enriching uranium to dangerous levels.Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump claimed he had been considering sanctions relief but abruptly abandoned the effort following what he called 'hostile' comments by Khamenei.'I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, 'and he does not have to say, 'thank-you, president Trump!''Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a sharp response, warning Trump to refrain from 'disrespectful' language toward Iran's supreme leader.He insisted that while Iranian nuclear sites suffered 'serious damage,' the strikes had 'achieved nothing significant.'The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, noted that the full extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program remains unclear.He stressed that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon 'will not be solved militarily,' and emphasized the need for diplomacy.
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