Tehran, June 20, IRNA - Tehran Symphony Orchestra staged a performance on June 18, with Iranian maestro Ali Rahbari as conductor, in honor of 175 martyrs, whose remains have been repatriated almost 30 years after the end of the Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Rahbari, who recently lost his 38-year-old son due to cancer, asked the audience to not applaud after the performance, Tehran-based English newspaper, Iran Daily, reported.

He dedicated the performance to the martyrs and to his son.

Tehran Symphony Orchestra performed famous pieces by Wilhelm Gericke, an Austrian-born conductor and composer, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer.

The remains of 175 Iranian divers who were reportedly buried alive with their hands tied during Iraq-imposed war on Iran in the 1980s were returned home from Iraq on May 18.

As many as 175 remains of Iranian military divers, who were killed by the forces of Saddam's Ba'ath regime during Operation Karbala-4 with their hands tied, were brought to the country through Shalamcheh border crossing in Khuzestan province.

A huge crowd attended the funeral procession for the martyrs in Tehran on June 16.

Iraq, under former dictator Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran on September 22, 1980.

By IRNA