Iran Holds Funeral for Officers Killed in Embassy Strike

People mourn over the coffins of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members killed in Damascus in a strike blamed on Israel on January 20, during their funeral in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 22, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People mourn over the coffins of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members killed in Damascus in a strike blamed on Israel on January 20, during their funeral in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 22, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran Holds Funeral for Officers Killed in Embassy Strike

People mourn over the coffins of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members killed in Damascus in a strike blamed on Israel on January 20, during their funeral in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 22, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People mourn over the coffins of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members killed in Damascus in a strike blamed on Israel on January 20, during their funeral in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 22, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran held a funeral on Friday for seven officers killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria this week, an unprecedented attack for which Tehran has vowed to take revenge.

State television showed demonstrators carrying pictures of those killed and banners with slogans such as "Death to Israel" and "Death to America".

The funeral coincided with the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day, during which Iran stages large state-sponsored pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel rallies nationwide.

The leader of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, Ziad al-Nakhala, took part in the rally in Tehran, Iranian media reported, Reuters reported.

Among those killed in Monday's airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus was one of Iran's top soldiers, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).

It was the boldest, and deadliest, in a series of attacks that have killed Iranian officials in Syria since December.

Iran vowed harsh retaliation, raising the spectre of a wider war and prompting the Israeli armed forces to suspend leave for all combat units on Thursday, a day after they said they were mobilising more troops for air defence units.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday his country would harm "whoever harms us or plans to harm us".

The coffins of two of the killed officers were displayed in the capital, Tehran, to religious mourning chants. Some of those present waved the Palestinian flag. All seven officers were expected to be buried later on Friday.

Iran's Jerusalem Day rallies are held annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in support of Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state in territories captured by Israel in a 1967 war.



French Police Thwart a Suspected Bombing Outside a Bank of America Building in Paris

French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images
French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images
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French Police Thwart a Suspected Bombing Outside a Bank of America Building in Paris

French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images
French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images

French police have thwarted a suspected bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris, authorities said Saturday. One suspect was detained and another escaped.

The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, or PNAT, told The Associated Press that it has opened an investigation into alleged terrorism-related offenses.

The suspected offenses include attempted damage by fire or by a dangerous means, the manufacture of an incendiary or explosive device, the possession and transport of such devices with the intent to prepare dangerous damage, and involvement in a terrorist criminal association.

A person was placed in police custody.

“Well done to the rapid intervention of a Paris police prefecture unit, which made it possible to thwart a violent act of a terrorist nature overnight in Paris,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

“Vigilance remains at a very high level," Nuñez said. "I commend all security and intelligence forces, fully mobilized under my authority in the current international context."

RTL radio, citing police sources, reported that the incident took place early Saturday when police officers spotted two suspects carrying a shopping bag near the premises of the Bank of America in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.

One of the suspects, holding a lighter, was attempting to ignite a device, RTL said, while the second suspect managed to escape.


Protesters March in London to Oppose the Rise of Political Right

A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
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Protesters March in London to Oppose the Rise of Political Right

A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of central London on Saturday for a "March to Stop the Far Right" with many demonstrators decrying the right-wing Reform UK party of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, which is topping opinion polls.

Backed by trade unions and civil society groups, the Together Alliance demonstration looked set to be one of the biggest in the British capital in recent years with about 30,000 people expected to take part, according to a police official, Reuters reported.

As well as placards opposing Reform UK and its anti-immigration stance, some Iranian flags were held aloft along with pro-Palestinian flags and banners. The march was due to end close to the British parliament building.

Reform leads the Labour Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as the other traditional British political parties, according to opinion polls. Zach Polanski, leader of the Green Party which is also challenging Labour, joined Saturday's march.


Pakistan to Host Saudi, Türkiye, Egypt for Talks on Mideast War

Iranian firefighters work on a damaged residential building in southern Tehran, Iran, 27 March 2026.EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranian firefighters work on a damaged residential building in southern Tehran, Iran, 27 March 2026.EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Pakistan to Host Saudi, Türkiye, Egypt for Talks on Mideast War

Iranian firefighters work on a damaged residential building in southern Tehran, Iran, 27 March 2026.EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranian firefighters work on a damaged residential building in southern Tehran, Iran, 27 March 2026.EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Pakistan's prime minister said he had a "detailed" call with Iran's president on Saturday, as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Türkiye prepared to meet in Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East.

Top diplomats from Riyadh, Cairo and Ankara are due in the Pakistani capital Sunday and Monday for "in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

They will be hosted by their Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, and a meeting with Sharif is also planned, a statement read.

Egypt also confirmed the talks.

Late on Friday, Ankara's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the private A Haber broadcaster that the meeting was initially planned to be held in Türkiye.

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon", without revealing his source.

While Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump's 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.