The head of Iran’s powerful theocratic guard, the IRGC, Ahmad Vahidi, has declared that Iran’s enemies will take their dream of Iranian surrender to their graves, as processions have begun for the state funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Speaking on Friday ahead of the start of the week-long funeral ceremonies, Vahidi paid tribute to Khamenei and said “His presence will remain everlasting for us, for our beloved Iran, and for the Islamic Ummah, and we will never deviate from his path.”
Addressing the Islamic Republic’s enemies, he declared “You will take to your grave the dream of seeing this nation surrender – a nation that, with the shedding of this pure blood, moves day by day closer to the peaks of power.”
The appearance marked Vahidi’s first public remarks since February 8, just weeks before Iran’s war with the US and Israel begun on February 28. He had since then been missing from public view during the months-long war and its aftermath.
The IRGC commander is believed to be among the few small group of senior officials who are have maintained direct contact with Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father after the latter’s death.
An enigmatic figure, Mojtaba Khamenei has long been a shadowy figure in Iranian politics, and since taking the mantle of supreme leader has remained almost completely out of public view, with no pictures, videos, or audio footage of him available since the February 28 strikes that killed his father and other family members.
Echoing his IRGC counterpart’s remarks, Iran’s Army commander-in-chief, Maj Gen Amir Hatami further vowed vengeance for the death of the late ayatollah.
“Without a doubt, this martyrdom has strengthened our resolve,” Hatami told state broadcaster IRIB.
“Today, with even firmer determination, we tell the enemies of the Iranian nation – the criminal United States and the treacherous, criminal Zionist regime: We will avenge the blood of our martyred Imam and all of our martyrs,” he said.
