Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, released a handwritten message after Israeli claims that he had been killed in an attack. In the message, he commemorated 104 soldiers who died in the attack on the IRIS Dena frigate, saying their sacrifice would strengthen the Iranian armed forces.
A funeral ceremony for the soldiers is scheduled to be held in Tehran, Iran, on March 18. The frigate was attacked on March 4 in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka, with Iranian authorities reporting dozens killed, missing and injured.