Iran is simultaneously preparing for one of the largest state funerals in its history and escalating maritime tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran's military command threatened ships that deviate from its approved routes through the critical waterway with an "immediate and forceful response."

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued the warning on Thursday, stating that any vessel that fails to comply with Iranian navigation protocols in the strait "will endanger the security of the offending vessels." The statement also warned that interference by US forces would be met with a "rapid and decisive reaction." The timing of the threat was striking: it came just a day after Qatari and Pakistani mediators reported "positive progress" in indirect US-Iranian talks aimed at turning a fragile 60-day ceasefire into a lasting peace deal. While Tehran did not formally explain the trigger, the warning appeared to follow a statement by US Central Command (CENTCOM) about a regional security dialogue in Bahrain, where leaders affirmed their commitment to the "free flow of commerce" through the strait. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, dismissed that forum as lacking the legitimacy to establish legal order in the Persian Gulf, insisting that regional security required an end to US military presence in the area.

The Strait of Hormuz — the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf between Iran and Oman — is one of the world's most strategically vital chokepoints, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed before the conflict began in late February. At least 49 attacks on commercial vessels have been recorded in the strait since the war started, with recent drone strikes hitting a Singapore-flagged cargo ship and a Panama-flagged merchant vessel. Ship traffic has partially recovered — at least 258 vessels transited the waterway last week, up from 138 the previous week — but remains far below the roughly 130 daily crossings recorded before the war. Maritime analysts warn that route decisions are being made "on an hour-by-hour basis" under shifting security conditions, and that the situation remains deeply unstable.

Against this backdrop, Iran is organising a six-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on 28 February in joint US-Israeli airstrikes on a government residence in Tehran. The strikes also killed his daughter, her husband, his daughter-in-law, and his 14-month-old granddaughter. The funeral, which was delayed for nearly four months due to the active war, begins on Saturday — the day the United States marks its 250th Independence Day — at Tehran's Grand Mosalla mosque. Khamenei's successor, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, is not expected to appear publicly; he was severely injured in the same strike and has issued only written statements since being named supreme leader. Israel's defence minister this week threatened to kill him as well, prompting Iranian hardliners to call for a review of the country's religious ruling against possessing nuclear weapons.

Representatives from around 30 countries are expected to attend, including Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese and Tajik officials, and a multi-member Indian delegation. European governments and the United States have not been invited; Iran's foreign ministry accused European countries of standing on the "wrong side of history" over their response to the US-Israeli campaign. A 10-kilometre funeral procession through central Tehran is planned for Monday, with authorities forecasting crowds of up to 20 million. Khamenei's body will subsequently be taken to the holy cities of Qom in Iran and then Karbala and Najaf in Iraq — major centres of Shia Islam — before burial on Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. The elaborate itinerary is designed to project Khamenei's stature as a spiritual leader of Shia Muslims worldwide and to signal national unity at a pivotal moment in negotiations that could determine Iran's future.