Mass funeral for Iran officers killed in Syria

(4 Aug 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: NO ACCESS IRAN/NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/NO ACCESS VOA PERSIAN/NO ACCESS MANOTO TV/NO ACCESS IRAN INTERNATIONAL
++The Associated Press is adhering to Iranian law that stipulates all media are banned from providing BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV and Iran International any coverage from Iran, and under this law if any media violate this ban the Iranian authorities can immediately shut down that organisation in Tehran.++
ASSOCIATED PRESS - NO ACCESS IRAN/NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/NO ACCESS VOA PERSIAN/NO ACCESS MANOTO TV/NO ACCESS IRAN INTERNATIONAL
Tehran - 4 August 2022
1. Wide of crowds gathering in Tehran's Imam Hossein Square to pay tribute to revolutionary gourd members killed in Syria
2. Mourners waving flags
3. Iranian flag draped over coffins of soldiers
4. Wide of coffins and mourners
5. Close of coffin with picture of Gen. Abdollah Eskandari who was beheaded by Syrian rebels in 2014
6. Mourner in tears chanting slogans
7. Man picking flowers from top of coffin and throwing them at crowds
8. Female mourners
9. Mourners waving flags
10. Pan of mourners
11. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Abolfazl Gholamhosseini, mourner: ++AUDIO AS INCOMING++
"These martyrs are telling us to keep resisting against oppression and infidels the way Imam Hossein (Shiite saint) stood up against oppression and sacrificed his head and was martyred. He and his family sacrificed their lives for Islam. We must keep resisting like that."
12. Woman crying
13. Man crying
14. Gen. Hossein Salami, Iran's revolutionary guard commander-in-chief rendering a salute and approaching lectern for speech
15. Mourners chanting UPSOUND (Farsi) "Death to America", "Death to Israel"
16. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Gen. Hossein Salami, Iran's revolutionary guard commander-in-chief:
"All ways leading to military conflict (with Iran) are blocked. The enemy has packed its suitcases and gone to Europe. It has lost its concentration here (in the region). They are no longer powerful enough to exert maximum pressure."
17. Wide of Salami speaking
18. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Gen. Hossein Salami, Iran's revolutionary guard commander-in-chief:
"The Iranian nation has left the sanctions behind. The problems we are facing today are not caused by the sanctions. They can be solved. The entire world is facing (economic) problems, so are we."
19. Top shot of crowds
STORYLINE:
Mourners poured onto the streets of Tehran on Thursday to pay their respects to several Iranian officers killed in Syria, a testament to the human cost of Iran’s involvement in the civil war and a public display of nationalist fervor as nuclear talks resume in Vienna.
The remains of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard members were recently recovered in Khan Tuman, a village 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) south of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city that was for years the war’s most important front line.
The Guard identified the five deceased fighters, providing few details about their deaths with the exception of Gen. Abdollah Eskandari - a decorated commander who became known as the “headless general” after his capture and beheading by Syrian rebels in May 2014.
Their bodies were repatriated after a lengthy process of recovery and DNA analysis.
Iran has increasingly admitted casualties since it intervened to rescue Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, a ground presence that coincided with Russia’s air campaign and helped Assad recover control over most of the country.
Chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” rang out from the crowds.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded:

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...