Iran holds funeral for slain senior commander

Tehran: Iran held a funeral on Tuesday for the senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon late last month.

The funeral ceremony, held in Tehran's Imam Hossein Square, was attended by Nilforoushan's family, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, IRGC's Chief Commander Hossein Salami, and Commander of IRGC Quds Force Esmaeil Qaani as well as other high-ranking officials and military commanders.

At around 8:20 am local time (0450 GMT), Nilforoushan's body was brought to the square, where it was received by citizens with flowers, Xinhua news agency reported.

Attendees waved flags of Iran, Hezbollah, and Palestine and held pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Nasrallah, and Nilforoushan, while chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.

Nilforoushan will be laid to rest in his hometown Isfahan on Thursday evening, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

Nilforoushan, 58, was killed on September 27 during a meeting with Nasrallah when Israel launched a large-scale targeted strike on Hezbollah's headquarters in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut. Nasrallah, along with several senior leaders of Hezbollah, was also killed during the attack.

Nilforoushan had been serving as IRGC's deputy commander for operations since 2019. When confirming his death in a statement, the IRGC said he was serving as a "military adviser" in Lebanon.