By Staff, Agencies

Iran held a large-scale funeral procession in Tehran on Saturday to honor 60 martyrs — including top military commanders, nuclear scientists, journalists and civilians — who were martyred in the recent 12-day campaign of aggression carried out by “Israel” and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

The ceremony began at 8:00 a.m. local time [0430 GMT] in Tehran’s iconic Enqelab Square and stretched to Azadi Square, with tens of thousands of mourners marching in tribute. Crowds chanted “Death to ‘Israel’” and “Death to America” as they accompanied the coffins through the capital.

Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of Tehran’s Islamic Development Coordination Council, described the day as “historic for Islamic Iran and the revolution.”

Among the martyrs was Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the second-highest-ranking military officer in Iran after the Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei. He will be laid to rest alongside his wife and daughter, a journalist, all of whom were martyred in an “Israeli” airstrike on Tehran.

Another prominent martyr was nuclear physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, who will be buried with his wife. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRG] chief commander, Major General Hossein Salami — martyred on the first day of the aggression — will also be interred following the funeral.

The ceremony likewise honored more than 30 other high-ranking commanders. Of the 60 individuals being buried, four were children.

Iranian officials have confirmed that over 600 people — mostly civilians — were martyred during the joint “Israeli”-US military campaign.

The funeral comes on the second day of the Islamic month of Muharram, a sacred period that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein [AS] and his 72 companions at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD — a historic event symbolizing resistance against tyranny.