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Qaani: We’ve Succeeded and Will Keep Succeeding

WANA (Jun 28) – General Esmail Qaani, Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was reportedly among the potential targets in Israel’s recent assassination plots, attended the funeral ceremony for those killed in the Iran-Israel conflict.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, Qaani stated: “We have succeeded so far, and we will continue to move forward successfully.”

Shamkhani Attends Funeral

WANA (Jun 28) – Ali Shamkhani, senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader and a reported target in Israel’s recent failed assassination attempt during the Iran-Israel conflict, appeared in public today at the funeral ceremony for those killed in the war.

 

Despite sustaining injuries in the attack, Shamkhani attended the procession, underlining both personal resilience and national defiance.

 

In a post on social media ahead of the ceremony, he wrote: “They came to assassinate reason and shatter power. But the dawn that began with gunfire ended with their plea for a ceasefire. Tomorrow is not just a funeral. It is allegiance to the future.”

Ali Shamkhani, advisor to the Supreme Leader. Social media/ WANA News Agency

The Battlefield and Diplomacy

WANA (Jun 28) – Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, attended the funeral ceremony for the commanders and nuclear scientists killed in the recent Israeli attacks on Iran.

Top Iranian Officials Attend Funeral Procession

WANA (Jun 28) – Several Iranian officials participated in the funeral procession, including Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, General Esmail Qaani, Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ali Shamkhani, advisor to the Supreme Leader, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s Oil Minister, Mohsen Paknejad, Former foreign minister Javad Zarif, etc.

 

The Funeral Procession Begins in Tehran

WANA (Jun 28) – The funeral ceremony for the martyrs of the Israeli regime’s war has begun at 8:00 a.m. local time in Tehran. The vehicle carrying the bodies has arrived among crowds of mourners. Leading the funeral convoy is a vehicle bearing the bodies of children who were martyred in the Israeli attack.

 

WANA (Jun 28) – In what is expected to be the largest public mourning ceremony since the war began, thousands of Iranians are gathering this morning to attend the funeral of top commanders, nuclear scientists, media workers, and civilians – including women and children – who were killed in Israel’s twelve-day aggression against Iran.

 

The ceremony, officially titled “Funeral of Shohada-ye Eghtedar” (Funeral of the Martyrs of Power), begins at 8 AM at Tehran’s iconic Enghelab Square and will proceed to Azadi Square. It is the first public event of its kind since the ceasefire and marks a visible manifestation of Iran’s wartime identity – a show of mourning, defiance, and national resilience, all in one.

 

“They came to assassinate reason and shatter power,” wrote Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader and himself injured in the war, in a tweet ahead of the funeral. “But the dawn that began with gunfire ended with their plea for a ceasefire. Tomorrow is not just a funeral. It is allegiance to the future.”

The mural at Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran on the day of the funeral ceremony for the martyrs of the Israeli regime’s attack, featuring images of the martyrs of this war. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Meanwhile, some analysts have warned that Israel may attempt to replicate its “Lebanon model” in Iran. According to sources close to security institutions, Tel Aviv could exploit today’s funeral ceremony as a platform for psychological or diversionary operations—ranging from dramatic acts like breaking the sound barrier to media stunts, psychological warfare, or even direct provocation. Such tactics echo what occurred during the funerals of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine in Beirut.

 

These moves are part of a broader battle over narratives that Israel has been entangled in since the end of the 12-day war. Still, many believe that a massive public turnout in the heart of Tehran could forge a powerful counter-narrative—one that not only serves as a symbolic response to recent aggression but also reshapes the very equation of deterrence.

 

Who They Were: Iran’s Fallen Commanders and Scientists

Among those being buried today are some of the most high-ranking and influential figures in Iran’s defense and scientific establishment.

 

Major General Hossein Salami, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in an Israeli airstrike on June 12 in Tehran. Known as the face of Iran’s military strategy during years of regional escalation, his assassination marked one of the most high-profile attacks in the war.

The first images of the coffins of the martyrs of the war with the Israeli regime. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Also among the fallen is Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, whose tenure saw the expansion of Iran’s missile and cyber capabilities. His death represents a direct blow to Iran’s military leadership.

 

In the field of science, Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, a prominent nuclear physicist and former president of Shahid Beheshti University, was killed in a pre-dawn bombing on June 27. Tehranchi had been sanctioned by the U.S. State Department in 2020 for his alleged involvement in Iran’s nuclear program.

 

Alongside him, Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a survivor of a previous assassination attempt in 2010, was killed along with his wife. His death underlined Israel’s ongoing targeting of nuclear personnel even years after their official roles.

Aerial photo of the massive crowd in Enghelab Square, Tehran. Social media/ WANA News Agency