Thousands of people lined the streets of Tehran shouting ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel’ during a mass funeral for people killed during the Israel-Iran war.
The procession attracted huge crowds mourning the deaths of 60 people, including four women and four children.
Among them were said to be at least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders, including head of the country’s Revolutionary Guard.
Their coffins were driven on trucks past flag-waving mourners to Azadi Square, with pictures of the dead visible.
State-run Press TV called the event the ‘funeral procession of the Martyrs of Power’.
The crowd could be heard chanting ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel’.
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei was out of sight during the funeral marches after going into hiding with his family during the Israeli airstrikes.
Instead the country’s president Masoud Pezeshkian was in attendance as he thanked people for turning out.
He wrote on social media: ‘From the bottom of my heart, I thank you dear people.
‘With love, you bid farewell to the martyrs of our homeland, and our voice of unity reached the ears of the world.’
Whereas foreign minister Abbas Araghchi used the funeral to make an ominous reference to Iran’s nuclear capability.
He said: ‘Institutions and structures, however important and valuable, return with new glory and greater strength over time, even if it takes years.’
Israel’s Operation Rising Lion was launched with the goal of crippling Iranian nuclear capacity and degrading any plans to retaliate.
Israel’s strikes were followed by US attacks on key Iranian nuclear facilities, including the use of bunker buster bombs on the underground site at Fordow.
President Donald Trump said Fordow had been ‘obliterated’ in the strikes but the extent of the damage remains unclear.
Iran is transparent about having a nuclear programme, but insists it has not developed weapons or warheads.
Follow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news
Metro’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories.
Iran Watch warned before the Israeli strikes that the country could enrich enough uranium for one weapon in four months, and five weapons in one year and eight months.
Israel, on the other hand, is widely believed to have one of the most advanced nuclear programmes in the world, but it has never confirmed or denied its existence.
Over the ’12-day war’, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
