Iran holds mass funeral procession for 300 unidentified martyrs of Iraq's imposed war
A funeral procession has been held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and several other cities to honor 300 unidentified martyrs from Iraq's imposed war in the 1980s.
Iranian people from all walks of life took part in the ceremonies across the country on Monday on the martyrdom anniversary of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra, daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
In Tehran, a large procession was held for 100 martyrs of the Sacred Defense in the presence of senior military and government officials, families of the martyrs and ordinary people.
The procession honors the sacrifices made during the eight-year war imposed by then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran.
The participants accompanied the martyrs to their final resting place in different places, including universities, seminaries, premises of state organizations and a number of public parks.
At the same time, the remains of 200 other unidentified martyrs were laid to rest in other cities, marking a day of remembrance and unity for the nation.
The bodies of martyrs are found mainly in Iran’s western and southwestern cities which used to be war zones during the Iraqi imposed war.
Addressing the ceremony in Tehran, Iran's police chief Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan said the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Sacred Defense, and efforts to neutralize plots and threats over the past 45 years have proved that the spirit of sacrifice and martyrdom plays a key role in strengthening national security.
He added that the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom is the most important factor in defending the country.
"Although defensive capabilities and military equipment play an important role in defending the country, military capabilities can be vulnerable ... without the culture of martyrdom, sacrifice, and selflessness," he noted.
The Iraq-Iran war, the longest armed conflict of the 20th century, was waged on September 22, 1980, by Saddam Hussein, who at the time enjoyed financial and military support from dozens of Western and regional countries.
The Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs has announced in a report that a total of 218,867 Iranians embraced martyrdom or went missing during Iraq’s eight-year war of aggression.
The war ended in 1988, when Iran accepted UN Security Council Resolution 598 which declared Saddam as the initiator of the conflict.
On August 17, 1990, the Iraqi regime was obliged to start the emancipation process of Iran’s captives and prisoners of war following a swap deal clinched earlier that year.
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