Call to ‘resist’ US as Iranians mourn Iraq war dead

Iranian authorities call to “resist” archfoe the United States today as large crowds mourn soldiers who died in the war with Iraq more than three decades ago.

Iran regularly organizes funerals for soldiers killed in the 1980-1988 war whose remains are either returned by its neighbor or found in former combat areas, which were mainly in Iran. Mourners gathered in front of Tehran University today around marquees erected on Enghelab (Revolution) Street to shelter the coffins of nearly 150 “loyal companions” under a scorching sun.

Iranian media reports that the dead include two “volunteers” who went to fight in Syria where Iran provides military support to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“The blessed hand that attacked the American drone confirmed that to resist the enemy, the Islamic Republic has no hesitation,” the head of the country’s judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, tells the crowd.

“The Islamic Republic recognizes America as the main enemy before the Zionist regime [Israel] and, with all its might, is capable of leading them to repentance,” Raisi says before the funeral procession began.

“We will revitalize ourselves with the blood of the martyrs. It is this blood that has watered the great fruitful tree of the Islamic revolution,” he adds.

— AFP