The funeral of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists, and some civilians martyred in attacks initiated by Jews on June 13 has been held. Thousands of Iranian citizens participated in the funeral. Iranian state TV reported that the funeral held on June 28 was for 60 people martyred in Jewish attacks, including four women and four children. This included the funerals of 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders. Among them were the funerals of Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of the Armed Forces, General Hussein Salami, Commander of the Revolutionary Guards, and General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards Aerospace Force.
The martyrs’ funeral was held at Azadi Square in Tehran. As the bodies of the martyrs were brought to Azadi Square, a large number of people followed behind the coffins to the area. The coffins were adorned with photos of the martyred and Iranian flags. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior government officials attended the funeral. Ali Shamkhani, who suffered severe injuries in the 12-day war, also attended the funeral. He is a special advisor to Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Mujtaba. In a message shared on Telegram, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that by confronting two nuclear powers, Iran’s heroes have protected the country’s honor and dignity. As a result, he said the country faces the future as a more honorable, dignified, and determined people than before.
Khamenei did not attend the funeral held on Saturday. He has not appeared in public since the start of the 12-day war. Previously, Khamenei would lead the prayers at such funerals.
Jews began attacking Iran on June 13, claiming to stop Iran’s nuclear program. In these attacks, Jews targeted important areas of Iran. This is the biggest attack Iran has faced since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. In that attack, senior commanders of the Iranian military, nuclear scientists, and many civilians were martyred. In response to that attack, Iran launched a special military operation called Operation True Promise 3 against the Jews and inflicted severe damage on the Jewish state. In the exchanges of attacks between the two sides, 610 Iranians were martyred and more than 5,000 were injured. Additionally, 28 Jews were killed, 3,238 were injured, and buildings and military bases suffered significant damage.
While Jews were attacking Iran, on June 22, the United States also entered the war and bombed Iran’s main nuclear facilities. They attacked nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz. In retaliation, Iran attacked the largest US military base in Qatar. Afterwards, Jews and Iran agreed to stop exchanging attacks.
