Iranians attending a funeral in Tehran on Wednesday for senior military commanders and servicemen voiced deep distrust toward the United States, accusing Washington of repeatedly deceiving Iran in past negotiations.
They stressed that any future ceasefire must be contingent on guarantees that the United States and Israel will not launch further attacks against Iran.
The ceremony honored Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij volunteer force, and crew members of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which was sunk by a U.S. submarine.
"A ceasefire is meaningless if, two months later, the U.S. and Israel regroup their forces to attack and destroy Iran's political, military, and economic infrastructure. What would such a ceasefire signify? We have already lost many senior commanders and nuclear scientists. The same thing and the same deception will happen again in a few months," said Mohammad, a Tehran resident.
Another mourner, Babak, emphasized Iran’s right to self-defense.
"When foreign forces invade, we are defending our legitimate rights. As you can see, so many of our compatriots have sacrificed their lives even when the Iranian naval ships did not fire a single missile. The U.S. claims to be Iran’s 'savior.' How is that possible?" he said.
Mahdi, another local, called for a firm national stance.
"We must steer the situation toward securing our series of demands. Iran's reasonable demand is ensuring that no further aggression against Iran occurs, as the U.S. and Israel have consistently shown hostility toward Iran," he said
On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East.
Iranians say no ceasefire without end to US, Israel aggression
