Thousands gathered today, Thursday, in the Iranian capital to attend the funeral of the prominent Revolutionary Guard commander Razi Mousavi, three days after his killing in Syria in what Tehran says was an Israeli strike.

Protesters in Imam Hussein Square in central Tehran chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America," while many waved yellow flags inscribed with "I am your opponent" — referring to Israel — in both Persian and Hebrew.

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met earlier today with Mousavi's family and led prayers over the body of the slain general before it was transferred to the central square.

Israel has long waged a shadow war of assassinations and sabotage against Iran and its allies, but Mousavi’s killing came at a time when regional tensions had sharply escalated over the conflict between Israel and Hamas since early October.

Some of the mourners in Tehran carried pictures of Mousavi with Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s external operations who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2020 in Baghdad; the U.S. classifies the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

Iran will next week mark the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s death, who led the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for more than a decade and oversaw countless terrorist attacks abroad.

Mousavi’s body was transferred to Iraq for funeral ceremonies in Shiite holy sites before being buried in Iran today.

Iranian official media announced Musavi, a general in the Quds Force and the most prominent commander killed in the Revolutionary Guard since Soleimani, was killed during an Israeli missile strike on Monday near the Syrian capital Damascus.

The Israeli army, which has carried out hundreds of raids on Iran-linked targets in war-torn Syria in recent years, said only that it does not comment on foreign media reports.

Syria said today that Mousavi’s "martyrdom" on its territory is part of Israel’s “aggressive policies," according to the Syrian official news agency (SANA).

SANA said Damascus has called in messages sent by the Syrian Foreign Ministry to the United Nations to act against Israeli actions that could "ignite the region."

Tehran threatens "response"

The head of the Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, praised Mousavi and described him as "one of the most experienced and effective commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Axis of Resistance" — the armed terrorist groups allied with Tehran in the Middle East.

The spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ramazan Sharif, warned on Wednesday that "our response to the assassination of Mousavi will be a combination of direct action in addition to other movements led by the Axis of Resistance."

Sharif accused Israel of killing the general "likely due to its failures" when the Iran-backed Hamas launched a large-scale attack on October 7, killing about 1,200 people in Israel and abducting 240, most of whom were civilians.

In response, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas, launching a large military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying the group’s military and governmental capabilities; the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says at least 21,110 people have been killed in the raids, although these figures cannot be independently verified.

Iran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, praised the devastating October 7 attacks and described them as "successful" but denied any direct involvement.

Salami said: "The ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ was an entirely Palestinian operation."