As Iran’s government buried its fallen heroes, its supporters came out in strength.
Senior security official Ali Larijani was killed in an airstrike two days ago, honoured today along with the crew of the Iranian navy ship sunk by the US at the start of the war.
Thousands of mourners gathered for the combined funeral. If you assassinate people whose religion embraces martyrdom, this can be expected.
The funeral saw some of the biggest crowds since the war began.
Floats carrying coffins of the slain officials were driven down Revolution Square in Tehran, surrounded by grieving mourners. Women wept holding posters of the former and new supreme leaders.
As it loses leader after leader, Iran’s government still wants to maintain a sense that it can survive and outlast the enemy.
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Holding a poster saying “Trump is humiliated”, one man had this message for the US president:
“Trump, soon we will kill you; Netanyahu is not our target anymore, our target is you. You killed our children to mock us and we will kill you to teach you a lesson in history.”
While Israel and America seek regime change in Iran, the scenes today suggest there is still considerable support for its government.
Mohammed and his wife, Hamideh, came with their children to show support. They told me people were united against the US and Israel’s actions.
“The method of our weak enemy martyring him [Ali Larijani] shows its weakness and impotence.
“The way he was killed was very unfair and is unacceptable anywhere in the world.” Mohammed told me.
Iran saw huge protests against the government before the war. Thousands of civilians were killed as well as hundreds of security forces, say authorities.
Opposition groups blamed the authorities for the crackdown, while the government insists the protests were stoked by foreign forces.
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What is clear from today’s scenes in Tehran is many support the leadership still, not least because they depend on it for a livelihood.
Sepora, a protester holding a placard with a old Persian poem written on it, explained to me its meaning: “It says, ‘if we are killed, all of us one by one, it’s better than giving our country to the enemy’.
“It is our country, we will not surrender.”
The culture of resistance and no surrender on show in today’s events also highlights the limitations of a strategy aimed at bombing Iran into submission from the air.
