US-Iran tensions: Tehran mourns Khamenei as Trump urges restraint during rites

At least eight vessels were forced to reverse course while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with tracking data indicating sudden U-turns as ships initially hugged the Omani coastline.

According to MarineTraffic data cited by CNN, five of the vessels—including vehicle carriers, chemical and oil products tankers, and a bulk carrier—abandoned their crossings in the morning local time, underscoring continued disruption in the strategic waterway.

The Strait, which typically handles around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, remains a flashpoint as Iran insists vessels require permission to pass through designated routes.

However, increasing traffic is shifting toward the Omani side, seen as an attempt to avoid Iranian-controlled waters. In a separate development, three additional vessels that initially turned back later resumed transit, passing closer to the Iranian side of the strait.

A senior Iranian diplomat warned that the Strait of Hormuz is not a "theater" for transregional powers' military display.

"Iran, as the responsible authority and guarantor of security in the strait, warns against any military movement in the sensitive waterway," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on social media platform X.

The strait's security is the sole responsibility of Iran and Oman, Gharibabadi said, dismissing a joint statement on Friday by outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, Xinhua news agency reported.

In their statement, Starmer and Macron described the waterway as a "vital artery" for the global economy, adding, "Restoring safe transit for ships of all nations through the strait is a matter of global concern."

They said Oman has agreed to work with Britain and France to ensure "its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation," stressing that Britain and France "also stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation" in the strait.

Meanwhile, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, citing the latest maritime tracking data, reported Saturday that eight vessels seeking to cross the waterway along the coast of Oman were turned back.

Bloomberg reported the same day that some of the vessels "had made it as far as the tip of the Musandam Peninsula that sticks out into the chokepoint, before making sharp reversals."

"One crude tanker, two products tankers, and one bulk carrier then sailed northward to take an outbound route" as directed by Iran, it reported.

Iran has tightened its grip on the strait since February 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a meeting at the White House that could take place as early as next week after his return from the NATO summit, Axios reported.

"We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is," Trump said in a brief phone interview with Axios, referring to himself.

According to the report, the proposed meeting would be the first between the two leaders since their February meeting in the White House Situation Room, where Netanyahu presented a plan for a joint war against Iran.

An Israeli official told Axios that next week could be too soon for the visit because of Trump's trip to Turkey for the NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8, adding, "It might take place the week after."

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu called Trump on Friday to congratulate him on the 250th Independence Day of the United States.

"During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States," Netanyahu's office said.

The report said people within Trump's inner circle have become increasingly sceptical of Netanyahu in the months following their February meeting.

"Many of Trump's closest advisers think that Bibi was wrong about everything," a US official told Axios.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday (local time) condemned Israel's actions in the region and criticised the United States for supporting them, alleging that the region has witnessed the targeted killing of intellectuals, scientists and other influential figures, IRNA reported.

Speaking at the international conference "Imam Khamenei; The Eternal Leader of Resistance" in Tehran, he also questioned the effectiveness of international institutions, saying they had failed to prevent such actions despite claiming to uphold human rights, IRNA reported.

Pezeshkian said that if "Muslim nations acted collectively, conflicts and humanitarian crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Palestine could not continue unchecked." He also warned that divisions among Islamic sects and ethnic groups create opportunities for external actors to exploit regional tensions, as reported by IRNA.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi thanked representatives from more than 70 countries for attending the funeral ceremonies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying their participation would remain "an everlasting memory" in the history of Iran's relations with those nations.

In a post shared on X, Araghchi said, "Iran is pleased to have received representatives from more than seventy countries who chose to participate in honouring our Supreme Leader, the martyr, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, including our loyal Arab brothers among them."

"And this historic commemoration will remain an everlasting memory in the course of our shared relations," he added.

The remarks came as Iran continued funeral ceremonies for Khamenei, with thousands of mourners gathering in Tehran to pay their final respects.

Iran's ambassador to China insisted that new fees would be charged to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz - an idea rejected by Washington - while assuring that "friendly" nations would receive special treatment.

The initial deal struck between Iran and the United States to end their war stipulated that commercial ships would transit the strait free of charge for 60 days, but it remains unclear what will be in place after that period.

Iranian Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told the World Peace Forum in Beijing that his country was working in "collaboration and cooperation" with Oman on "new arrangements" for the vital waterway.

"As a country where the Hormuz is part of its territorial waters, we will definitely charge service fees," Azli said in translated remarks, while insisting such fees would not be a "toll."

"These new arrangements will be concerning guaranteeing the security of passage through the Straits of Hormuz, supervision of the passage of the vessels... and also guaranteeing and dealing with the environmental consequences of the massive number of ships," he said.

"We will definitely consider special treatment for the countries that were friendly to us and specially stood by us during the hard times," he added.

Day 127: Massive turnout at Khamenei funeral

Day 126: Netanyahu, Trump agree to meet in US 'soon'

Day 125: Iran denounces US-led security summit of 12 nations

Day 124: Iran says Qatar talks with US on war MoU concluded

Day 123: Iran says US blockade stopped oil exports completely

Day 122: IRGC Navy spokesperson Akbarzadeh dies in car 'mishap'

Day 121: Iran warns against attacks from regional territory

Day 120: US–Iran ceasefire under strain as drones target Bahrain

Day 119: Lebanon, Israel, US sign trilateral deal in Washington

Day 118: Oil price spikes after IRGC strike on ship in Hormuz

Day 117: Iran-Gulf reconciliation talks expected in Saudi Arabia