Iran holds funerals for Ali Larijani, Basij Chief Gholamreza Soleimani in Tehran

Tehran [Iran], March 18 (ANI): A funeral ceremony is underway in Tehran on Wednesday for top security official, Ali Larijani, and head of the Basij forces, Major General Gholamreza Soleimani, according to the Iranian state media Press TV.

According to Press TV, Iran is holding funerals for Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, as well as for the slain sailors of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena.

The ceremony is taking place in Tehran as the country mourns the loss of top officials and sailors.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had asserted that the political infrastructure of the nation remains a "very solid structure" and will not suffer a "fatal blow to Iran's leadership" following the confirmed killing of Ali Larijani.

"I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions," Araghchi said.

The Foreign Minister emphasised that the "presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure." He noted that while "individuals are influential, and each person plays their role--some better, some worse, some less--but what matters is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure."

Araghchi highlighted the earlier loss of the country's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the initial phase of US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. He remarked that despite the immense national loss, "the system continued" to function.

Araghchi reiterated that the escalating conflict across the region was not initiated by Tehran. "I will repeat: This war is not our war," the minister stated. "We did not start it. The United States started it and is responsible for all the consequences of this war--human and financial--whether for Iran, for the region, or for the entire world," Araghchi said, adding that "the United States must be held accountable." (ANI)

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