TEHRAN, Iran – Iran on Saturday held a state funeral for dozens of military commanders and nuclear scientists killed during the recent 12-day conflict with Israel, in a highly symbolic show of national mourning and defiance.
Coffins draped in Iranian flags were carried through a sombre procession near Enghelab Square in central Tehran, as mourners dressed in black chanted anti-Israel slogans, waved flags, and held portraits of the dead.
Government offices were closed nationwide to facilitate participation, and free transport was provided to boost turnout.
Among those laid to rest was Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s chief of staff and its highest-ranking military officer, who was killed alongside his wife and daughter in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month.
Also buried were Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a prominent nuclear physicist and head of Tehran’s Azad University.
The Iranian government said 627 people were killed during the conflict, including both military personnel and civilians. Israel reported 28 deaths from Iranian missile attacks.
The mass funeral was attended by high-ranking officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a key advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who survived an earlier Israeli strike.
Tensions Remain High
The funeral comes just days after a US-brokered ceasefire brought an end to the worst escalation between Israel and Iran in decades.
During the conflict, the United States conducted targeted airstrikes on several Iranian nuclear sites, further straining diplomatic ties between Washington and Tehran.
US President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House press briefing on Friday, said he would “absolutely” consider further military strikes on Iran if intelligence showed significant uranium enrichment activity.
He also taunted Iran’s Supreme Leader in a post on Truth Social, saying he had “saved [Khamenei] from a very ugly and ignominious death,” and abruptly halted discussions on sanction relief following what he called “a statement of anger, hatred and disgust” from Khamenei.
Iran Responds
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Trump’s remarks as “disrespectful and unacceptable,” urging the former president to “put aside the rhetoric” if he was serious about pursuing a deal.
Araghchi acknowledged that US and Israeli strikes had inflicted “excessive and serious” damage on several Iranian nuclear facilities, though Supreme Leader Khamenei had earlier claimed the bombings had achieved “nothing significant.”
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has raised fresh concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, saying it is still unclear how much uranium or equipment survived the attacks.
“You are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily. You are going to have an agreement,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, in an interview with CBS News.
