They included both those repatriated before the US-British war on Iraq began in March and 45 soldiers whose remains were sent to Iran after the fall of Saddam Hussein by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh, head of the search committee for missing soldiers, said.

The coffins of the 300, each wrapped in Iran's flag and covered in a plastic sheet, were placed in tiers on the backs of trucks, guarded by soldiers.

The funeral was held on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Fatima, daughter of the Muslim prophet Mohamed.

British forces invading southern Iraq found hundreds of coffins of Iranian troops in a hospital near Basra, but not all have been returned.

Bagherzadeh said 8,700 bodies were still on Iraqi soil, accusing US occupying forces of preventing the search and recovery of the rest.

The funeral cortege was accompanied by men and women who walked for several kilometres (miles) in blistering heat, carrying black and white mourning flags.

The coffins had placed for three days in Tehran's grand mosque, where thousands came to pay tribute before the funeral. The bodies, of which only 75 have been identified, will be buried in different cities in the country.

WAR.WIRE