‘Progress’ in US-Iran talks as Tehran prepares for supreme leader’s funeral

Preparations are underway on Thursday ahead of a farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on Iranians to attend Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in “large numbers,” and said the former Supreme Leader’s death marked the “beginning of a new chapter” for the country.

His message, posted Thursday on the semi-official Tasnim news agency, comes as Iran prepares for Khamenei’s multi-day long funeral, more than four months after an Israeli strike killed the supreme leader on the first day of the war.

“This martyrdom is not the end of the journey, but the beginning of a new chapter of national unity, resilience, and progress,” Pezeshkian said, arguing that Khamenei’s death had also demonstrated “this system rests on the firm foundations of faith, ideals, and the will of a great nation.”

He called on all Iranians, “regardless of ethnicity, religion, political views, or background” to attend the planned ceremonies in order to portray a united front to the world.

Syria’s foreign minister is visiting Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials, marking his first official trip since the US president raised the possibility of Syrian intervention in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s president discussed bilateral ties with Syrian official Asaad al-Shibani and said Beirut welcomes coordination with Damascus on border control and weapons smuggling, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).

During a meeting with Hezbollah-allied Lebanese official Nabih Berri, Syria’s foreign minister said Damascus is open to meeting the Iranian-backed group if it would be beneficial, NNA reported.

The Syrian visit comes at a sensitive moment for both countries, after Trump suggested Syrian forces could confront Hezbollah. Syria later clarified it would intervene only at the Lebanese government’s request.

A large banner with a picture of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as preparations are underway on Thursday ahead of a farewell ceremony in Tehran.

Iranian negotiators have left Qatar as the Islamic Republic pauses diplomacy ahead of a multi-day funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed late February in strikes ordered by the United States and Israel.

Iranian media has shifted its coverage almost exclusively to the funeral preparations, the operational changes the country will implement during next week’s processions, and the symbolic meanings behind the grand spectacle.

Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, who also serves as Iran’s parliament speaker, called on all Iranians “to come in great numbers” to the leader’s funeral, while the Iranian military warned the US and Israel against “any miscalculation” during the processions.

The mediators – Qatar and Pakistan – issued a statement saying talks between the US and Iran were “positive,” and that negotiations would continue at the “earliest possible time.”

It remains unclear what was discussed in Doha. Iranian officials have said they were there to discuss unfreezing their assets as part of the agreement, while Axios reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were trying to talk Iran out of charging ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

But for now, the Islamic Republic will come to a standstill as it lays Khamenei to rest in a funeral carefully staged to demonstrate the regime’s survival to the very actors responsible for the Supreme Leader’s death.

Iran issued a fresh warning on Thursday for vessels to follow Tehran-designated routes through the Strait of Hormuz, once again spotlighting the tensions over the crucial waterway.

Traffic passing through the strait has fragmented into several routes – one hugging the Iranian coastline, a second sticking close to the Omani coastline and a third, which was used before the war, passing through the middle of the strait.

Iran has sought to dissuade vessels from taking these second two routes, which weaken their control over the strait. On Thursday, the country’s Revolutionary Guards warned ships transiting the waterway they would be “responsible for any consequences” if they took other routes.

The status of the waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flow, has become a key stumbling block in negotiations between the Iran and US.

This latest warning comes a day after US Central Command (CENTCOM) met with 12 Middle Eastern nations in Bahrain. In that meeting, they “discussed the current regional security environment” and “underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz,” a CENTCOM statement said.

A spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that separate indirect meetings in Doha between US and Iranian negotiators made “positive progress” on issues tied to the memorandum of understanding, and that both sides have agreed to continue discussions.

The spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said in a post on X that the next meeting would be scheduled “at the earliest possible time” after funeral processions for Iran’s former supreme leader.

Funeral ceremonies are planned for July 4 through July 9.

Here’s what else to know:

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Iran pushes for the release of frozen assets

4:51 • Source: CNN

Iran pushes for the release of frozen assets

4:51

The US Navy is searching for a missing aircrew member after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter went down on Wednesday in the Arabian Sea, the service announced.

The helicopter assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush “conducted an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea. There is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action,” a post on X from US Naval Forces Central Command said.

It’s unclear what caused the crash.

The social media post said the incident is under investigation.

Ships sail along the Singapore Strait, as seen from a plane in Singapore on April 19.

Oman has outlined a plan for shipping companies to pay service fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz, pointing to the straits of Malacca and Singapore as a possible blueprint.

Context: The Malacca and Singapore straits are vital shipping lanes in Southeast Asia running between Malaysia, Singapore and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

By July 2023, the fund had received contributions totaling only around $23 million, according to Singapore’s port authority, about a third of which came from the Nippon Foundation.

“I don’t know of anyone, beyond Japanese interests, that pay such a fee,” Peter Sand, chief analyst at freight intelligence firm Xeneta, told CNN.

The Hormuz revenue would also be for purposes unrelated to the waterway itself, including rebuilding Iran, he noted.

Michelle Brouhard, head of policy at shipping intelligence firm Kpler, said there are other examples of natural straits that charge navigation and security fees, such as the Strait of Magellan in Chile.