TEHRAN -- Tens of thousands of Iranians on Tuesday attended funerals for 400 soldiers martyred in the 1980s war imposed by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Caskets with the remains of unidentified martyrs were draped in Iranian flags and carried in mass processions. For many Iranian families, the war’s painful legacy drags on in a continuous waiting for news of loved ones still “missing.”
In January, 250 Iranian martyrs of the 1980-1988 war were buried in similar ceremonies.
In the capital, Tehran, the last farewell on Tuesday honored 200 soldiers whose remains were recently recovered from the former battlefields along the Iraq-Iran border. Funerals were held for another 200 soldiers in other cities and towns across Iran. None of the soldiers have been identified and their remains were to be buried as “unknown martyrs” in mass funerals.
From outside of Tehran University, trucks piled high with the caskets made their way through the streets. Men and women in black thronged the coffins, many weeping for those lost in the war started by launched Hussein and his Ba’ath party in 1980.
Iran and Iraq sporadically exchange remains of soldiers recovered from borderland territory that witnessed major combat in the war.
Iranian national TV said the remains buried Tuesday were of troops martyred in four battlefields, including in two locations inside Iraq. Along with the Iranian flag, many people also carried photographs of legendary Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by a U.S. drone strike in January 2020 in Baghdad.
President Ebrahim Raisi and other top officials attended the ceremonies and praised the martyrs, saying they help improve the nation’s sprit.
Speaking at the ceremony, Raisi said efforts by the enemies of the nation — a reference to the U.S. and its allies — have sought to pressure Iran during the