Officials and Scientists Remembered in Mass Funeral After Recent Strikes

The air in Tehran was thick with both grief and tension as the crowd moved through the city’s main avenue. Women in chadors wept openly, many clutching rosaries, while elderly men recited prayers under their breath. Younger Iranians, some with cheeks streaked by tears, spoke in hushed tones about the perils of escalation and the looming shadow of regional conflict. The mood oscillated between heartbreak for lives lost and an almost palpable yearning for vengeance, underscored by ever-louder chants calling for a collective response.