State television broadcast live scenes of thousands of mourners in black chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans, including “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” 

Iran on Saturday held a large-scale state funeral for dozens of top military commanders and scientists killed during the country's recent 12-day war with Israel, as tensions remain high in the region.

State television broadcast live scenes of thousands of mourners in black chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans, including “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” 

The funeral procession featured coffins draped in Iranian flags and surrounded by mock-ups of ballistic missiles, symbolic of Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israeli targets during the conflict.

One banner held by the crowd read, “Boom, boom, Tel Aviv,” echoing sentiments tied to Iran’s missile attacks launched during the war.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the ceremony alongside Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who appeared visibly injured from a reported Israeli strike. State media said at least 60 high-ranking figures—scientists, intelligence officials, and military leaders—were killed in the hostilities.

Notably absent from the funeral was Khamenei himself, though he delivered a televised speech on Thursday, hailing what he called a “strategic victory” after a ceasefire was declared earlier in the week.

AFP reports that as the funeral procession moved through the sprawling metropolis, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi paid tribute to the war effort in a post on his Instagram account.

“Iranians gave blood, not land; gave their loved ones, not honour; they withstood a thousand-ton rain of bombs, but did not surrender,” the top diplomat said, adding that Iran does not recognise the word “surrender.”

Among those killed was Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who will be buried alongside his wife and daughter—a journalist—who also died in the attack.

Nuclear physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, another casualty, will be laid to rest with his wife, while Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami, who died on the war’s first day, is scheduled for burial on Sunday.

Of the 60 individuals to be buried following the state funeral, four are children and four are women.
The United States joined its ally Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, targeting three key facilities. Both countries later claimed victory in the conflict.
Israel declared it had “thwarted Iran’s nuclear project” and warned it would launch further attacks if Tehran attempted to revive the program. Washington echoed that sentiment, saying the strikes had set Iran’s nuclear ambitions back by years.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dismissed the impact of the strikes, stating they had achieved “nothing significant.”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump launched a fiery attack on Khamenei via his Truth Social platform, accusing the Iranian leader of falsely claiming victory.
Trump claimed he had known “EXACTLY where [Khamenei] was sheltered” during the war and added that he had prevented both U.S. forces and Israel from assassinating him.

“I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!'” Trump said.

Trump said he had recently been working on the potential lifting of sanctions against Iran, a key demand from Tehran.

“But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more.”

The Iranian foreign minister fired back on Saturday, mimicking the U.S. president’s signature use of all-caps.

“If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei,” Araghchi posted on X.

“The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to ‘Daddy’ to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults.”

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 627 civilians, according to Iran’s health ministry. In retaliation, Iranian attacks on Israel resulted in the deaths of 28 people, based on Israeli reports.

Following U.S. airstrikes, former President Donald Trump claimed that fresh nuclear negotiations with Iran would begin next week.

 However, Iran refuted the claim and, in a show of defiance, its parliament passed a bill this week suspending cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).