APTOPIX Iran Khamenei Funeral

Iran’s joint military command has warned that all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a “forceful response.” The statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command was aired on Iranian state television Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the threat from Iran. Ship passage through the vital waterway is continuing to rebound, even after Iran attacked two commercial vessels last week that circumvented its routes. Shipping data firm Lloyd's List Intelligence says at least 258 ships transited the strait last week, a period that includes the Iranian strikes. That's up from 138 ships the previous week.

Iran is preparing for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Banners across Tehran urge the public to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric. The country’s theocracy hopes to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent to the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. That could provide a boost for its government, particularly as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war.

The funeral for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has started, months after his death in an airstrike on the first day of the war. The body of Khamenei, who was 86, is on display in Tehran, Iran’s capital, on Saturday at the start funeral commemorations that will end on Thursday when he is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his place of birth. Iran’s government expects to see millions of people flood the streets of Tehran in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. That could provide a boost for Iran’s government as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war.