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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets of downtown Tehran connected Saturday for the ceremonial of the caput of the Revolutionary Guard and different apical commanders and atomic scientists killed during a 12-day warfare with Israel.
The caskets of Guard main Gen. Hossein Salami, the caput of the Guard’s ballistic rocket program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh and others were driven connected trucks on the capital's Azadi Street arsenic radical successful the crowds chanted: “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Salami and Hajizadeh were some killed connected the archetypal time of the war, June 13, arsenic Israel launched a warfare it said was meant to destruct Iran's atomic program, specifically targeting subject commanders, scientists and atomic facilities.
State media reported much than 1 cardinal radical turned retired for the ceremonial procession, which was intolerable to independently confirm, but the dense assemblage packed the main Tehran thoroughfare on the full 4.5 kilometer (nearly 3 mile) route.
There was nary contiguous motion of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, successful the authorities broadcast of the funeral. Khamenei, who has not made a nationalist quality since earlier the outbreak of the war, has successful past funerals held prayers for fallen commanders implicit their caskets earlier the unfastened ceremonies, aboriginal aired connected authorities television.
Top officials are among the mourners
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was connected hand, and authorities tv reported that Gen. Esmail Qaani, who heads the overseas helping of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, and Gen. Ali Shamkhani were besides among the mourners.
Shamkhani, an advisor to Khamenei who was wounded successful the archetypal circular of Israel's onslaught and hospitalized, was shown successful a civilian suit leaning connected a cane successful an representation distributed connected authorities television's Telegram channel.
Later connected Saturday night, authorities TV showed Shamkhani saying helium and different generals knew they would beryllium targets earlier Israel initiated the warfare earlier this month. The greeting of the onslaught connected his residence, helium said helium woke up for dawn supplication erstwhile abruptly everything astir him had go ruins. He initially thought that an earthquake had taken place, and it took hunt and rescue teams astatine slightest 3 hours to find him successful the rubble.
Shamkhani said astir of his injuries were internal, including a thorax fracture.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was created aft its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since it was established, it has evolved from a paramilitary, home information unit to a transnational unit that has travel to the assistance of Tehran’s allies successful the Middle East, from Syria and Lebanon to Iraq. It operates successful parallel to the country’s existing equipped forces and controls Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, which it has utilized to onslaught Israel doubly during the Israel-Hamas warfare successful the Gaza Strip.
Over 12 days earlier a ceasefire was declared connected Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed astir 30 Iranian commanders and 11 atomic scientists, portion hitting 8 nuclear-related facilities and much than 720 subject infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 radical were killed, including astatine slightest 417 civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group.
Iran fired much than 550 ballistic missiles astatine Israel, astir of which were intercepted, but those that got done caused harm successful galore areas and killed 28 people.
Saturday's ceremonies were the archetypal nationalist funerals for apical commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian authorities tv reported that they were for 60 radical successful total, including 4 women and 4 children.
Crowd expresses feelings of choler and defiance
Authorities closed authorities offices to let nationalist servants to be the ceremonies.
Many successful the assemblage expressed feelings of choler and defiance.
“This is not a ceasefire, this is conscionable a pause,” said 43-year-old Ahmad Mousapoor, waving an Iranian flag. “Whatever they do, we volition decidedly springiness a crushing response.”
State media published images of an unfastened sedate crippled astatine Tehran’s sprawling Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery wherever service main of staff, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, who was killed connected the archetypal time of the war, was to beryllium buried beside his brother, a Guards commandant killed during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
Many of the others were to beryllium buried successful their hometowns.
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan quality bureau confirmed that the apical authoritative astatine the notorious Evin situation had been killed successful an Israeli onslaught connected Monday.
It reported that Ali Ghanaatkar, whose prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize victor Narges Mohammadi, led to wide disapproval by quality rights groups, would beryllium buried astatine a shrine successful Qom.
Iran has ever insisted its atomic programme is lone for peaceful purposes. But Israel views it arsenic an existential menace and said its subject run was indispensable to forestall Iran from gathering an atomic weapon.
Khamenei's past nationalist quality was June 11, 2 days earlier hostilities with Israel broke out, erstwhile helium met with Iranian parliamentarians.
On Thursday, however, helium released a pre-recorded video, successful his archetypal connection since the extremity 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 downplayed U.S. strikes connected 3 Iranian atomic sites arsenic having not achieved “anything significant” and claimed triumph implicit Israel.
Questions stay implicit imaginable talks
The caput of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, has characterized the harm done by American bunker-buster bombs to Iran’s Fordo atomic site, which was built into a mountain, arsenic “very, very, precise considerable.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that helium expects Iran to unfastened itself to planetary inspection to verify it doesn’t restart its atomic program, and White House officials person said they expect to restart talks soon with Iran, though thing has been scheduled.
Iran's parliament has voted to suspend collaboration with Grossi's International Atomic Energy Agency for the clip being.
In a station connected X connected Saturday, Araghchi indicated that Iran mightiness beryllium unfastened to talks, but criticized Trump's remarks from Friday successful which the president scoffed astatine a informing from Khamenei against further U.S. attacks, saying Iran “got bushed to hell.”
“If President Trump is genuine astir wanting a deal, helium should enactment speech the disrespectful and unacceptable code towards Iran’s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei and halt hurting his millions of heartfelt followers,“ Araghchi wrote.
