September 23, 2018
By Mohsen Ganji and Nassar Karimi
Amid wails and vows of revenge, (click here) thousands of Iranians on Monday attended a mass funeral service for victims of a weekend attack targeting a military parade that killed at least 25 people.
By Mohsen Ganji and Nassar Karimi
Amid wails and vows of revenge, (click here) thousands of Iranians on Monday attended a mass funeral service for victims of a weekend attack targeting a military parade that killed at least 25 people.
The dead from Saturday’s attack in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, blamed on Arab separatists, ranged from a disabled war hero to a four-year-old boy. The assault killed members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, including conscripts, wounded over 60 others and further ratcheted up tensions across the Persian Gulf ahead of this week’s United Nations General Assembly.
The father of 4-year-old victim Mohammad Taha lay atop his son’s flag-draped coffin sobbing, a public display of grief near the Sarallah Mosque in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran’s oil-rich province of Khuzestan.
Women in long black chadors held back tears while rhythmically striking their chests, a traditional way of showing grief. Mourners also played drums, cymbals and horns, according to local customs.
Of the 25 killed, 12 were from Ahvaz and the rest from elsewhere in Khuzestan.
The father of 4-year-old victim Mohammad Taha lay atop his son’s flag-draped coffin sobbing, a public display of grief near the Sarallah Mosque in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran’s oil-rich province of Khuzestan.
Women in long black chadors held back tears while rhythmically striking their chests, a traditional way of showing grief. Mourners also played drums, cymbals and horns, according to local customs.
Of the 25 killed, 12 were from Ahvaz and the rest from elsewhere in Khuzestan.
As crowds flowed down Ahvaz’s streets, cries of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” rose from the mourners. While a traditional chant in the years since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, they have taken on a new meaning as Iranian officials have blamed the U.S. and its regional allies for backing the separatists, who carried out the assault while disguised in military uniforms....
This is not what the people of The West want. We do not want senseless killing that creates hatred among people. This attack was no sanctioned by the people. Absolutely not.
We understand that mans grief and do not want it for him.
We understand that mans grief and do not want it for him.
