Iran holds funeral for military commanders and scientists killed in Israel war
Hundreds of thousands of mourners have lined the streets of downtown Tehran for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), as well as other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during Iran's 12-day war with Israel.
The caskets of IRGC chief General Hossein Salami and the head of the group's ballistic missile program, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were among a group of caskets driven on trucks along Azadi Street on Saturday as people in the crowd 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 strikes it said were intended to destroy Iran's nuclear program.
State media reported more than 1 million people turned out for the funeral procession, a number that could not be independently confirmed. However, the dense crowd packed the main Tehran thoroughfare along the entire 4.5-kilometre route.
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 the past held prayers for fallen commanders over their caskets before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was on hand, and state television reported that General Esmail Qaani, who heads the foreign wing of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, and General Ali Shamkhani were also among the mourners.
Shamkhani, an adviser to Khamenei who was wounded in the first round of Israel's attack and hospitalised, was shown in a civilian suit leaning on a cane in an image distributed on state television's Telegram channel.
Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed about 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 a Washington-based human rights 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.
Khamenei's last public appearance was made on 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 claimed victory over Israel, and downplayed US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites as having not achieved "anything significant".
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, has characterised the damage done by American bunker-buster bombs to Iran's Fordow nuclear site, which was built into a mountain, as "very, very, very considerable".
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