War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Atleast 41 to 43 million people participated in the six-day funeral ceremony for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Press TV called Khamenei’s funeral “the largest procession the world has ever witnessed”. Ceremonies took place across five cities: Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad.

The official public funeral proceedings began last Saturday when tens of thousands of Iranians gathered at the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran where Khamenei’s coffin was on display.

The National News Agency reports Israeli forces continue to conduct demolitions in southern Lebanon with extensive blasts inside the town of Khiam.

Multiple consecutive explosions were heard shaking the area throughout the night, according to NNA.

Israel has been accused of carrying out a deliberate policy of destroying homes and infrastructure in the south – much like it did in Gaza – to make it uninhabitable for Lebanese residents.

More liquefied natural gas tankers have resumed transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, and 22 Japan-linked vessels have left the Gulf since Tuesday, Tokyo said, despite renewed fighting in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and LNG shipments, has been closely watched by shipping companies and governments following Iranian attacks this week on commercial vessels and US retaliatory strikes on Iran that have reduced traffic through the waterway.

But at least five ballast LNG tankers have entered the strait in recent days, according to data from Kpler and LSEG.

Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta has criticised Donald Trump over the ongoing military conflict with Iran, warning that the administration’s actions demonstrate a failure of both diplomacy and strategic planning.

“Although we can’t rely on what the President says about it, we can rely on the renewed US strikes and Iranian drone attacks to determine the defective status of the inconclusive negotiations and ineffective ceasefire,” he wrote on X.

He added that the current crisis is “the continued effect of entering into war without a clear strategy, congressional approval, or the consensus of the American public”.

As NATO met this week in Ankara, one of the most significant issues before the alliance was freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

But Iran has said the meeting, and its focus on the strait and Iran’s nuclear programme, is politically motivated, Iranian state media IRNA reported.

The Iranian Embassy in Turkiye said the country’s nuclear programme is peaceful, emphasising that Tehran is not looking to develop nuclear weapons. The embassy added that Iran has a responsibility to maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz and that the destabilising actions of other countries are the primary source of insecurity in the region, IRNA reported.

Israel shared intelligence with the United States this week about a new and “specific” plan by Iran to assassinate President Donald Trump, US media reported, according to Reuters.

Washington has monitored “a steady drumbeat” of intelligence about possible plans to assassinate Trump, “but the warning from Israel was new and concerned a specific plot,” CNN reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The Wall Street Journal, also citing unidentified sources, said the intelligence described a “fresh” plot.

A US official has said that Washington is still committed to finding a resolution with Iran and that technical talks were continuing, Reuters reports.

Assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was buried in his home city of Mashhad, state television reported, following a ceremony at which his son and successor was not seen, AFP reports.

The “body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution was buried in the memorial hall of the shrine of Imam Reza,” state broadcaster IRIB reported.

The governor of Iran’s Bushehr province has confirmed that explosions were heard in Bushehr and Choghadak, Al Jazeera reports citing the IRNA news agency.

“Whether the sound heard was from the defence of the armed forces, an enemy projectile hitting the areas, or an enemy drone being targeted is still under investigation, and its definitive cause has not yet been determined,” he tells IRNA.

The United States will oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from “pilot zones” in the south, with the first to get underway within days, AFP reports citing Lebanese and US officials.

A US official says that new talks between Israel and Lebanon will go ahead next week, after a diplomatic source earlier told AFP that Lebanon had demanded an Israeli pullout from the zones before taking part.

The official says US Central Command will coordinate on the zones with both countries.

“We will soon begin outreach to international partners to help the Lebanese government effectively restore sovereignty in these zones and across their country more broadly,” the official adds.

Under a framework agreement reached on June 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has sent troops as part of its military campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia movement that has long battled Israel. As part of the agreement, the long-disempowered Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.

Iran has strongly condemned US military attacks on its ports, coastal areas, and maritime infrastructure, describing the attacks as a clear violation of international law and a direct threat to the lives of civilians, sailors, commercial shipping, and the marine environment, state news agency IRNA reports quoting a statement.

At the 137th session of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council, the Iranian delegation says the United States cannot claim to support maritime security on one hand “while targeting maritime traffic control facilities and maritime transit safety equipment on the other”.

“The Iranian delegation declared that Iran remains fully committed to the safe and orderly conduct of maritime navigation,” IRNA says. “However, it will firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security, sovereign rights, and legitimate interests against any attempts to distort the legal and objective realities of the region.”

Iran adds that the United Arab Emirates has “placed its territory and facilities at the disposal of enemies for hostile military operations against the people, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Iran, as well as the security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, the report adds.

“According to UN Resolution 3314, this constitutes an act of aggression.”

Local residents have reported hearing blasts in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, Al Jazeera reports citing the Mehr News Agency.

Two explosions have been heard in the areas around Bushehr and the nearby city of Choghadak, Al Jazeera reports citing Iran’s Mehr News Agency.

It has not provided further details on the cause or whether there has been any damage or casualties.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports that funeral prayers for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have begun in Mashhad, led by his eldest son.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has had separate phone calls with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the latest regional developments, including recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reports.

“The ministers reviewed the latest regional dynamics, focusing on recent incidents in the strategic Strait of Hormuz alongside other shared concerns,” IRNA adds.

“The diplomats also underscored the urgent need to utilise diplomatic channels, maintain continuous communication, and coordinate bilateral efforts to de-escalate regional tensions and maintain stability.”

The latest fighting between the US and Iran has left Iranians rattled, according to Al Jazeera.

“For the past two nights, the noise has been extremely loud,” Badriyeh, 44, a homemaker from the southern city of Bandar Abbas, has told the AFP news agency after the latest strikes. “It was worse last night, and the windows of several houses have been broken.”

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir says the military remains on high alert, with “hundreds of air force aircraft” on immediate standby and tens of thousands of personnel supporting operational readiness, according to Al Jazeera.

“Even at this moment, we are closely monitoring what is happening in Iran and Lebanon and are ready for immediate action,” Zamir adds, threatening that it would be “against anyone who tries to harm us”.

The first so-called pilot zone in Lebanon, in which the Lebanese army will assume control of an area now occupied by Israeli forces, will launch in “a matter of days,” with further zones being mapped out and planned, Reuters reports quoting a US official.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has condemned US strikes on his country during a phone call with Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to the Iranian government.

In a post on X, Tehran says Araghchi and Field Marshal Munir discussed the latest developments in the region, labelling the overnight strikes by Washington “clear violations of the UN Charter and the Islamabad Memorandum [of Understanding]”.

“Araghchi said US officials’ statements rejecting their commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum demonstrate continued treaty violations and warmongering policies,” the post adds. “He reaffirmed Iran’s firm determination to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security.”

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports that one of the Mashhad railway lines damaged in overnight US strikes has been repaired and services have resumed.

Citing a railway official, Tasnim adds that the repairs were carried out within 13 hours.

“The second line will also be reconstructed in a few hours,” the report adds. “Train traffic on the reconstructed line has now resumed.”

Dozens of missiles and drones fired by Iran caused no significant damage or injuries to American personnel, AFP reports quoting a US defence official.

The Iranian missiles and drones “were intercepted or failed to cause major damage,” the official says on condition of anonymity, adding that there are “no US injuries”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war with Iran is not over and that he intends to keep Israeli forces in Lebanon “as long as the need requires”, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Iranian regime has been dealt a severe blow, and our policy is clear that Iran will not possess nuclear weapons, whether with or without an agreement. The war is not over yet, and new challenges are emerging before us,” Netanyahu has reportedly told Israeli media.

He has also repeated a frequent claim that Iran would have had nuclear weapons “if we had not acted”.