Tehran, March 18: People in large numbers attended a funeral ceremony in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday for the crew members of a frigate sunk by the United States, as well as one of the country's top security officials and a high-ranking military commander killed in Israeli attacks.
On March 4, the US Navy's Los Angeles-class submarine, USS Charlotte, torpedoed and sank Iran's Dena frigate in the Indian Ocean, killing 104 crew members and injuring another 32.
Iran confirmed that Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Larijani, and Gholam-Reza Soleimani, Chief Commander of the voluntary Basij force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, were killed in Israeli attacks on Tuesday.
Along with Larijani, his son Morteza, Alireza Bayat, Deputy Secretary of the SNSC for security affairs, as well as several of his bodyguards, were killed in the Israeli strike.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed on the social media platform X that Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib had also been killed.
The ceremony, which was attended by the deceased's family members, Iranian state officials and military commanders, as well as a large number of people from various backgrounds, began at the iconic Enghelab Square. It featured a procession to a location in southern Tehran, where the bodies of the fallen are taken for a final farewell before burial.
The mourners waved Iranian flags and held pictures of their "martyrs," including the country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as they accompanied the bodies. They also pledged allegiance and support for the country's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and chanted slogans against the United States and Israel, according to Xinhua news agency.
They also vowed to take revenge on the United States and Israel for their "crimes" and the killing of Iranians in their "aggression" against the country.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing the country's supreme leader, high-ranking military commanders, and civilians. Iran responded through several waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US assets and bases in the Middle East.