Iran holds state funeral for military commanders and scientists, US - Iran continue fierce 'war of words'
Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran to attend a state funeral for some 60 people, including military commanders and top nuclear scientists, killed in Israeli strikes, just four days after a ceasefire was signed.
Iranian state television on June 28 broadcast images of people dressed in black, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), other senior commanders and nuclear scientists in the ceremony that began at 8 a.m. (local time).
Images from central Tehran showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in military uniform.
The US had earlier joined its ally Israel in the 12-day war (which began on June 13) by carrying out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities last weekend.
Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war, which ended in a ceasefire on June 24. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei downplayed the impact of the US airstrikes, saying President Trump had "extraordinarily exaggerated" the incident and rejecting US claims that Iran's nuclear program had been set back decades.
The coffins of IRGC commander General Hossein Salami, head of the IRGC's ballistic missile program General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and others were carried by truck along the capital's Azadi Street as crowds chanted: "Down with America" and "Down with Israel."
Both General Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on the first day of the war, which Israel said was aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear program. IRGC Major General Mohammad Bagheri and top nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed in Israeli strikes.
The June 28 ceremonies were the first public funerals for senior commanders since the ceasefire. Iranian state television reported that a total of 60 people, including four women and four children, were buried. The government closed government offices so civil servants could attend the ceremony.
The state funeral came a day after US President Donald Trump posted a scathing tweet on his Truth Social platform, attacking Khamenei for declaring victory over Iran in a video address. Trump also claimed he knew "exactly where he (Khamenei) was, and did not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces... end his life".
Mr Trump said he had considered lifting sanctions on Iran, but abandoned the idea after Mr Khamenei's remarks.
Responding to Mr. Trump on June 28, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social network X: "If President Trump really wants a deal, he should put aside his disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards the Supreme Leader of Iran."
Al Jazeera's Tehran correspondent Resul Serdar said Mr Araghchi's comments were "an expected response" to Mr Trump's tweets.
"Many Iranians see him [Khamenei] primarily as a spiritual leader, but according to the constitution, he is more than that - he is a political leader, a military leader - he is simply the head of state in Iran," the reporter analyzed.
There was no sign of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appearing in the state broadcast of the funeral. Khamenei has not been seen in public since before the war broke out.
In the 12 days before the ceasefire, Israel claimed to have killed some 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while also striking eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites.
Iran, for its part, has fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel. Most were intercepted, according to Israeli figures, but those that made it through caused widespread damage and killed 28 people. Tehran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education said Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 627 civilians.
After the US air strikes, Mr Trump said talks on Iran's nuclear programme for a new deal would restart next week, but Tehran has denied plans to resume talks.