As Iran’s government buries its fallen heroes, its supporters come out in force.
Ali Larijani, a senior security official killed in an airstrike two days ago, was honored today along with the crew of an Iranian navy ship sunk by the US at the start of the war.
Thousands of mourners thronged the joint funeral. If you kill people whose religion accepts martyrdom, this is to be expected.
Iran War – Live Updates
The funeral saw some of the largest crowds since the start of the war.
Floats carrying the coffins of the slain officers were driven down Tehran’s Revolution Square, surrounded by grieving mourners. Women held posters of former and new leaders and wept.
Losing leader after leader, Iran’s government wants to maintain the feeling that it can still survive and outrun the enemy.
holding a poster”Trump Humiliated”, one person had this message for the US President:
“Trump, soon we will kill you; Netanyahu is no longer our target, you are our target. You killed our children to mock us and we will kill you to teach you a lesson in history.”
While Israel and America want regime change IranToday’s scenes suggest that its government still has plenty of support.
Mohammed and his wife Hamida came to show their support with their children. He told me that people are united against the actions of the US and Israel.
“The manner in which our weakest enemy martyred him (Ali Larijani) shows its weakness and impotence.
“The way he was killed was very unjust and unacceptable anywhere in the world.” Muhammad said.
Iran saw massive protests against the government before the war. Officials say thousands of civilians and hundreds of security forces were killed.
The opposition blames the authorities for the crackdown, but the government insists the protests were instigated by foreign powers.
Read more:
Inside Iran’s Children’s Wards
What do we know about the US officer who resigned over the war?
What is clear from today’s scenes in Tehran is that many still support the leadership because they depend on it for their livelihood.
Protester Sepora, who held a placard bearing an old Persian poem, explained to me its meaning: “It says, ‘It is better to kill us all one by one than to give our country to the enemy.’
“This is our country, we will not surrender.”
The culture of resistance and lack of surrender on display in today’s events highlights the limitations of a strategy aimed at bombing Iran into submission from the air.
