Iran holds state funeral for top brass slain in war with Israel

June 28, 2025 / 11:33 AM

Iran began a state funeral service Saturday for around 60 people, including its military commanders, killed in its war with Israel, after Tehran's top diplomat condemned Donald Trump's comments on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as "unacceptable".

The proceedings started at 8:00 am local time (0430 GMT) in the capital Tehran as government offices and many businesses were closed on Saturday for the occasion.

"The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started," state TV said, showing footage of thousands of people donning black clothes, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain military commanders.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other senior government officials and military commanders, including Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, also attended the event.

Images showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in uniform near Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where the march began.