Tehran saw thousands of mourners flock to the streets on Tuesday for the funeral of the assassinated IRGC colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, Demonstrators chanted "Death to Israel!" and other anti-US and anti-Israel slogans during the procession, according to Times of Israel.
A large poster reading "Iran is a victim of terrorism" was also reported at the demonstration, that hailed Khodaei as a martyr. The scenes resembled those following the assassination of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Soleimani was killed by a US airstrike greenlit by the then-president Donald Trump.
At the funeral, mourners were quoted by the Associated Press as demanding "revenge", with one Iranian saying “Enemies must be aware that we are loyal to the martyrs and their blood is so precious to us”.
Tehran has decried the shooting that claimed Khodaei's life as a "terrorist attack". While no-one has claimed responsibility, the colonel was killed after two motorcyclists approached his car and shot him five times near Mojahedin-e-Islam Street. Three bullets reportedly hit him in the head, IRNA news outlet said.
The Iranian government has claimed that the attackers fled the scene and were chased by "intelligence and security forces", but there has been no information regarding their apprehension. According to IRNA, the incident is being investigated.
Khodaei's assassination marks the most high-profile killing in Iranian territory since the murder of the nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020.