Mourners gather in Tehran to attend funeral procession for nuclear scientists, military officials

Thousands of mourners have gathered in Tehran to attend what Iran had announced as a “historic” funeral for top military officials, nuclear scientists, who were killed by Israeli strikes in the so-called 12-day war against Israel.

“The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started,” Iranian state TV said, while airing footage of mourners wearing black clothes and waving Iranian flags.

Other funeral processions are expected to take place in different cities across the country.

The commemorations were planned to begin at 8am local time (4.30am GMT) at Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, followed by a funeral procession to Azadi (Freedom) Square, about 11km away.

"Tomorrow will be a historic day for Islamic Iran and the revolution," said Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of Tehran's Islamic Development Coordination Council, in a televised interview on Friday.

Among the dead are General Mohammad Bagheri, a major-general in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and the second-in-command of the armed forces after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.

Four women and four children are among those to be honoured at the funeral ceremony. 

Israeli strikes killed at least 30 top commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, according to local media, including its commander-in-chief, Hossein Salami, and the head of its aerospace forces, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who oversaw the country's ballistic missile programme.

The Iranian health ministry says at least 627 civilians were killed and nearly 4,900 wounded in the Israeli attacks, while Iran's strikes on Israel also killed 28 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Last week, US president Donald Trump announced a ceasefire that he has brokered between Iran and Israel to end the war.