Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, revealed in an interview that military and law enforcement commanders did not attend the government ceremony for the funeral of the slain officers due to fear of "an attack against the Islamic Republic." While the number of protesters killed is estimated to be in the thousands, the Islamic Republic has announced that several officers were also killed during the protests. Rezaei's admission of the fear among military officials of the Islamic Republic to participate in public ceremonies comes at a time when, during the 12-day war between Israel and the Islamic Republic, dozens of commanders and security officials were targeted by Israel in their hideouts.