Heroes on Shoulders
Iran bids glorious farewell to martyrs of Israeli aggression
Iran held a funeral on Saturday for some 60 scientists, commanders and civilians killed during this month's Israel’s aggression against Iran with large crowds of mourners dressed in black filling the streets in the capital Tehran.
At least 16 nuclear scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, including Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander General Hossein Salami, and IRGC 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.
Of the 60 people who were laid to rest, four were children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Leader, who was seriously wounded in an Israeli attack on his residence.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the martyred Iranians had given their "blood" during the 12-day war with Israel but "not honor".
"Iranians gave blood, not land; gave their loved ones, not honor; they withstood a thousand-ton rain of bombs, but did not surrender," he said on his Instagram account, adding that Iran does not recognize the word "surrender”.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, who attended the procession, paid flowing tributes to the victims of the Israeli aggression in a message on X.
“Today, the zealous people of Iran carry on their shoulders, with heavy sorrow but standing steadfast and powerful, some of their purest and most patriotic sons and daughters – commanders, elites, athletes, women and children of this land – who were martyred during the war imposed by the aggressor Zionist regime, and with indescribable respect, they lay them to rest on the soil of their homeland like mythical heroes; so that each one may become a seed for the growth of other heroes," he wrote.
Iran says more than 600 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israeli and US aggression against Iran.
Israel began its unprovoked aggression against Iran on June 13 with attacks on Iran’s military sites, nuclear farcicalities and residential areas. The United States also joined the conflict with strikes on three Iran’s nuclear sites last weekend.
According to Iranian Health Ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a cease-fire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were also injured in the Israeli attacks.