TEHRAN – A grand commemoration ceremony was held in a large Tehran venue on Wednesday, where thousands of civilians as well as several military and political officials gathered to announce they were not backing down against the Zionist regime. 

Israel killed some 935 people during its 12-day war against Iran. High-ranking military officials, nuclear scientists, and civilians are among the victims. Tel Aviv asked for a halt in fighting on June 24 after Iran pounded large swathes of Israeli cities. 

Among the attendees of the Tehran ceremony, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces was one of the first dignitaries to speak to reporters. “Those who were martyred were many great men and unparalleled human beings. Perhaps it will not be easy to meet men like Martyr Bagheri, Martyr Salami, Martyr Rashid, etc., and the nuclear martyrs,” Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi stated. “Those martyrs had fought for 45 years, but the enemy thought that by hitting them, it would destroy the nervous system of the armed forces, without knowing that the armed forces are under the command of the Commander-in-Chief [Ayatollah Khamenei] and will never fall apart.”

Taking the podium, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohamad Bagher Ghalibaf said Israel would not have been able to fight against Iran even for the 12 days that it did without direct support from the U.S. and other Western governments. He also said that Washington betrayed diplomacy the minute it decided to fund an Israeli war against Iran. “The Americans betrayed the negotiating table and attacked our nation, but the coherent response of our armed forces was rooted in national unity, and the enemy saw that this nation stood united in confronting the enemy,” he explained. 

Iran and the U.S. engaged in five rounds of indirect talks on Iran’s nuclear program before the war, which the U.S. subsequently joined directly by attacking Iran’s nuclear sites on June 22. The two countries were set to attend a sixth round of talks before the war broke out. Analysts say U.S. President Donald Trump may have used the negotiations as a cover-up.

Others present at the ceremony were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ali Larijani. In a message posted on X, Pezeshkian said the Islamic Republic will continue to defend its people, territory, and security in the face of foreign threats. “Iran advocates peace but remains steadfast in defending its people,” he wrote.