Crowds chant 'death to America' as thousands line streets of Tehran for funeral of officials killed by Israel
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Tehran today for the funerals of the head of the Revolutionary Guard and other top commanders and scientists killed by Israel during the so-called 12-day war.
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The caskets of General Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh and others were driven on trucks along the capital's Azadi Street as people in the crowds chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".
Generals Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war as Israel launched a wave of attacks on Iran’s nuclear and civilian infrastructure.
According to Iranian state media, more than one million people turned out for the procession, although this has not been verified.
It remains unclear if Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attended the funeral.
He has been in hiding since Israel launched its war on Iran, with Donald Trump at one point suggesting the US could kill him at any moment.
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.
Gen Shamkhani, an adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei who was wounded in the first round of Israel's attack, was shown in a civilian suit leaning on a cane in an image distributed on state television's Telegram channel.
Iran and Israel agreed a ceasefire deal earlier this week after the United States hit Iran’s nuclear facilities with a series of massive strikes.
Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed around 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 the Washington-based Human Rights Activists 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.
Authorities closed government offices to allow public servants to attend the ceremonies. Funeral attendees dismissed the idea the ceasefire marked an end to Iran’s war with Israel."This is not a ceasefire, this is just a pause," said Ahmad Mousapoor, 43, waving an Iranian flag. "Whatever they do, we will definitely give a crushing response."