Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf are due to attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sunday.
His assassination by Israel last year marked an epochal setback to Tehran and its network of armed allies in the Middle East.
Ghalibaf secured attendance after personal follow-ups and an official invitation from Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported Saturday.
The outlet also said Lebanese authorities did not extend an official invitation to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian..
Additionally, Fars noted that religious and Islamic jurisprudential considerations, specifically the obligation to expedite burial after a temporary interment, prevented the funeral from being held in Iran.
Lebanese authorities recently blocked Iranian flights from landing in Beirut, citing security risks and warnings from the US that Israel might target incoming Iranian planes. According to AFP, Israel had informed Lebanon via Washington that it would consider an Iranian flight landing in Beirut as a military escalation, alleging that Hezbollah uses civilian flights to transfer weapons and funds from Iran.
The flight restrictions have prevented a larger Iranian delegation and citizens from attending the funeral, according to Iranian media.
Nasrallah’s burial, five months after his assassination by Israel, will take place at Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium and also honor Hashem Safi al-Din, who briefly led Hezbollah before being assassinated by Israel.
Once Iran’s most powerful regional proxy armed militia, Hezbollah was founded with the support of the Revolutionary Guards in 1982 but suffered heavy losses in last year’s war, with Israel significantly weakening its military and political power. While Tehran remains its key backer, the group’s diminished strength has raised questions about its ability to project power as it once did.
Earlier this month, US envoy Morgan Ortagus declared that Hezbollah’s “reign of terror” was over, crediting US pressure on Iran for the group’s decline. After meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, she warned that Hezbollah’s involvement in the new government crosses a US “red line.”
As the group prepares for its leader’s funeral, it faces mounting challenges both militarily and politically.
“He had a performance at a café in western Tehran in Janatabad when plainclothes officers and the police arrived, arrested him and his composer, and detained several people there,” one source said, requesting to remain anonymous for security reasons.
A video obtained by Iran International shows the moment the officers storm the venue and detain the underground rapper. A masked man can be seen in the footage, who the source said was one of those who detained Eycin.
“They came with a van and took everyone away. The venue was also sealed off,” the source added, "Eycin had scheduled several performances in cafes, on a tour, in Qeshm in recent weeks."
The fans were later released but two sources told Iran International that Eycin and his composer remained in detention.
A source said that both Eysin and Sohrabi appeared in court on Friday morning, however the charges against them remain unknown.
“Lately, rappers have been organizing a lot of underground performances through various methods. It seems like they want to crack down before it spreads,” the source said.
International human rights organizations have condemned Iran's suppression of artistic expression in recent years.
In the aftermath of Iran's nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, at least two rappers - Toomaj Salehi and Saman Yasin - were sentenced to death in connection with their music. Following an international outcry, their death sentences were revoked.