MORE than a million mourners lined the streets of Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard, other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during the 12-day war with Israel.

The caskets of Guard chief General Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh and others were driven on trucks along the capital’s Azadi Street as people in the crowds chanted: “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

The two generals were killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched an unprovoked illegal attack it claimed was meant to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iranian media reported more than one million people turned out for the funeral procession that packed the entire nearly three-mile route.

There was no immediate sign of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral. The Ayatollah is the target of assassination threats by the Israelis as they continue to call for regime change in the Islamic state.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was on hand and the media reported that General Esmail Qaani, who heads the foreign wing of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, and General Ali Shamkhani were also among the mourners.

Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed that it had killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites.

More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group.

Many in the crowd expressed anger and defiance.

“This is not a ceasefire, this is just a pause,” said Ahmad Mousapoor, waving an Iranian flag.

“Whatever they do, we will definitely give a crushing response.”

State media published images of an open grave plot at Tehran’s sprawling Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery where army chief of staff, General Mohammad Bagheri, who was killed on the first day of the war, was to be buried beside his brother, a Guards commander killed during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.

Many of the others were to be buried in their hometowns.

The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency confirmed that the top prosecutor at Tehran’s Evin prison had been killed in an Israeli strike on Monday.

Iran’s judiciary said at least 71 people were killed during the attack on the prison.

Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said those killed included staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families.