The China Mail - Iran holds state funeral for top brass slain in Israel war

State television aired footage of thousands of black-clad mourners chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as they held aloft photographs of the dead.

"Boom, boom, Tel Aviv," read one banner, referring to the retaliatory missile fire launched by Iran against Israel during their 12-day war.

State television showed mock-ups of ballistic missiles like those Iran fired at Israel alongside coffins draped in Iranian flags.

President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the ceremony as did Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Khamenei who used a walking cane after being wounded in an Israeli strike in the war, the television images showed.

But the supreme leader himself stayed away. Khamenei had delivered a video address on Thursday to proclaim "victory" in the conflict which ended with a truce earlier this week.

- No surrender -

As the funeral procession wound its way across the spawling 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 the dead was armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who will be buried with his wife and journalist daughter who were killed alongside him.

Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, also killed in the attacks, will be laid to rest with his wife.

Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami, killed on the first day of the war, will be buried on Sunday.

Of the 60 people who are to be laid to rest after the ceremony, four are children and four are women.

- 'RUN to 'Daddy'' -

The United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, joining its ally Israel's bombardment of Iran's nuclear facilities.

Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war.

Israel said it had "thwarted Iran's nuclear project" and threatened renewed military action if it attempted to rebuild it.

Washington insisted its strikes had set Iran's nuclear programme back by years.

Khamenei said they had done "nothing significant".

Trump launched an outspoken tirade against the Iranian leader on his Truth Social platform on Friday for claiming to have won the war.

The US president claimed that he had had known "EXACTLY where (Khamenei) was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces... terminate his life".

"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 been working in recent days on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran, one of Tehran's main demands.

"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 hit back on Saturday, using the US president's trademark capitals.

"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 strikes killed at least 627 civilians, the Iranian health ministry said. Iran's retaliatory fire on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures.

After the US strikes, Trump said new nuclear talks with Iran were set to begin next week.

But Iran denied any such plan, and its parliament passed legislation this week suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency.

B.Chan--ThChM