Iran holds a state funeral on Saturday for about sixty people killed in the war with Israel. Military leaders and nuclear scientists, among others, will be honored during the ceremony in the capital, Tehran.
Footage from state television shows the coffins lined up in a central square in the city. The coffins are surrounded by people with Iranian flags and photos of the deceased.
One of the coffins contains Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the army who was killed on the first day of the war. The commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, is also being buried.
President Masoud Pezeshkian and a number of other senior government officials are attending the ceremony. After the ceremony, the coffins will be driven in a procession through the city.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems absent
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not visible in the images. He spoke on Thursday for the first time since the ceasefire came into effect and claimed victory over Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who also intervened in the war with airstrikes, disagrees. “Why would this so-called Supreme Leader so shamelessly and foolishly claim victory in the war with Israel, when he knows it’s a lie?” he writes on Truth Social.
Trump claimed in turn that he prevented Israel from killing Khamenei. “I knew exactly where he was hiding,” the U.S. president writes. “I saved him from a very ugly and embarrassing death.” According to Israel, Khamenei survived the war by hiding underground.
According to Iranian authorities, at least 627 civilians were killed in the Israeli airstrikes, apart from the military deaths. Israel said 28 people were killed in Iranian counterattacks.