A state funeral is taking place in Iran for about 60 people on Saturday, including military commanders and nuclear scientists, killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel.
Coffins draped in the Iranian flag, bearing portraits of deceased commanders, were flanked by crowds near Tehran’s Enghelab Square, reports BBC.
The conflict ended with a ceasefire earlier this week, after the US became directly involved by bombing key nuclear sites in Iran. Huge crowds of mourners dressed in black chanted slogans, waved Iranian flags and held portraits of those killed.
Ahead of the event, a media campaign urged people to participate, with authorities providing free bus and metro rides. Government offices were shut for the day. Among those being laid to rest is Mohammad Bagheri, the highest-ranking military officer in Iran who was chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces.
Bagheri will be buried with his wife and daughter, who were killed in an Israeli strike. In total, Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran. Israeli officials said 28 people were killed in Israel following missile attacks by Iran.
Saturday’s funeral also includes Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, as well as a number of nuclear scientists such as Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, who was head of Azad University in Tehran.