Conflicting reports on funeral of top IRGC general killed in Israeli strike

The IRGC has denied earlier remarks by one of its commanders that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will lead funeral prayers for Abbas Nilforoushan, the IRGC deputy commander who was killed alongside Hezbollah leader in an Israeli airstrike two weeks ago.

Iranian authorities have announced that Nilforoushan's body was found on Friday two weeks after his death. Earlier on Saturday, the IRGC commander of Isfahan announced that once his body is repatriated to Iran, it will be buried in Isfahan after funerals in Mashhad and Tehran, with Khamenei leading the funeral prayer.

However, hours later, Isfahan's IRGC information office denied this statement, saying that "The publication of any news in this regard is invalid."

Since the air strike that killed Nasrallah and other Israeli attacks, Iranian officials have issues many contradictory reports, including over the disappearance of IRGC's Quds commander Esmail Qa'ani. While some reports said he was killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut, other statements from Iran have underlined that he is alive. However, some foreign media have said that Qa'ani has been arrested on suspicions of espionage for Israel and has been subjected to interrogations.

Born in Isfahan in 1966, Nilforoushan began his military activities in the 1980s joining the Basij and later the IRGC, holding various positions including Deputy Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces for Operations.

Iranian media outlet Student News Network (SNN) described Nilforoushan as a “key figure” with extensive battlefield experience who played a crucial role in supporting the “Resistance Axis, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Palestinian resistance groups,” helping to strengthen their capabilities against Israel.

Following the assassination of IRGC General Mohammad Reza Zahedi in an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, Nilforoushan “assumed command of the Lebanon front,” according to the Tehran-based Fararu website.

Nilforoushan was killed in an Israeli attack on a meeting between Nasrallah, top Hezbollah members, and IRGC commanders. In a statement about Nasrallah's death, Khamenei said that the meeting was focused on designing a military plan to counter the recent wave of Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Previous version of this news item was updated to reflect the denial by IRGC.