Four vessels altered course in the Strait of Hormuz, Windward reported. Iran opposes the route. Iran holds a state funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in a US-Israeli airstrike.
The diversions come as Iran holds a dayslong state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, killed in a US-Israeli airstrike at the war’s outset in February. His son Mojtaba was installed as successor in March but has stayed out of public view and will skip the funeral over security concerns — Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said he is “marked for death.”
Iran shut the country down through Monday to swell turnout, with 10 million people expected to join commemorations nationwide — officials are bracing for scenes on the scale of Khomeini’s 1989 funeral, where at least eight mourners died. The procession moves through Tehran on Monday, then Qom, Najaf and Karbala, before burial in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad on Thursday. IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi and aerospace commander Majid Mousavi made rare public appearances; Iran’s armed forces warned against any military action during the ceremonies.
Dozens of countries sent delegations, led by Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif; European governments were reportedly not invited, while representatives from Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah.
Follow along for the latest on the US-Iran war in West Asia.

