Iran holds state funeral for commanders, scientists killed in war

TEHRAN: Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a state funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.

At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Moham­mad Bagheri, Revolutionary Gua­r­­ds commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display. Mass prayers were later held in the square.

State TV said the funeral, dub­bed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power”, was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.

Large crowds of mourners dressed in black line streets in Tehran

In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures, including Ali Sham­khani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.

There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.

Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.

According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2025



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/b8VlFt1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One dead, 7 detained during Israeli incursion into Syria

DAMASCUS: Syria’s interior ministry on Thursday said the Israeli military killed one civilian and detained seven people during an overnight incursion, with the Israeli army saying it seized members of Palestinian group Hamas. The Israeli army said on X that its soldiers seized several suspected members of Palestinian group Hamas in a “targeted” operation in Beit Jinn, 12 kilometres (seven and a half miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration. It has also deployed tro­ops across the demilitarised zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line that used to separate the opposing forces on the Golan. Syria’s interior ministry said “these repeated provocations constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic… these practises cannot lead the region to stability a...
Read more

Ukraine ready to accept ceasefire proposal, US to resume intelligence sharing

The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after talks where Kyiv said it would accept a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia, the countries said in a joint statement. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would now take the offer to Russia, and that the ball is in Moscow’s court. “The President wanted this war to end yesterday … So our hope is that the Russians will answer ‘yes’ as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations,” Rubio told reporters, referring to US President Donald Trump, after more than eight hours of talks in Jeddah. The Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, and Russia, which has been making advances, now holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Rubio said Washington wanted a full agreement with both Russia and Ukraine “as soon as possible.” “Every day t...
Read more

Israel approves plan aiming to double annexed Golan population

The Israeli government on Sunday approved a plan to double the population of the occupied and annexed Golan Heights, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the prime minister’s office said. The government had “unanimously approved” the 40 million shekel ($11 million) “plan for the demographic development of the Golan … in light of the war and the new front in Syria and the desire to double the population”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, since 1967 and annexed that area in 1981 in a move recognised only by the United States. Netanyahu said, “The strengthening of the Golan is that of the State of Israel and it is particularly important at this time. We will continue to establish ourselves there, develop it and settle there”. The occupied Golan Heights are home to about 23,000 Druze Arabs, whose presence predates the occupation and most of whom retain Syrian citizenship, as well as around 3...
Read more