TEHRAN: An Iranian military commander warned the United States and Israel on Thursday against any attack on Iran as it prepares for the state funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on the first day of the war.
“We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by state media.
Funeral processions for Khamenei will begin on July 4 in Tehran and conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq between these dates.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave a similar warning that Tehran would deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership after comments by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz that Iran’s current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “marked for death.”
Iranian media reported heightened security measures during the funeral period, while the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation said on Wednesday that temporary airspace restrictions would be implemented over several cities, including Tehran and Mashhad.
Iran warns US against interference in Strait of Hormuz, state media reports
Iran says that any US interference in the Strait of Hormuz would trigger a “decisive and rapid” response, adding that the continued presence of US air assets across the waterway endangers regional security, Reuters reports, citing state media.
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates Iran’s armed forces operations, has said all tanker and commercial vessels must follow routes designated by Tehran for safe passage through the strait, adding that deviations or failure to comply with navigation protocols would face an immediate response.
Martyrdom of Supreme Leader not end of road: Pezeshkian
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the “martyrdom of our Leader is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new chapter” in a message carried by Press TV.
The statement comes ahead of the funeral processions that will take place on July 4.
‘Hormuz is not the playground of aggressor America’: Iranian military
All commercial vessels are obliged to take the Iranian-designated maritime route for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz or face the consequences, Iran’s military headquarters warned according to Al Jazeera.
“Any US interference in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with a decisive and swift response from the armed forces,” the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement.
“The Strait of Hormuz is not the playground of the aggressor America, but rather the territory of the undisputed sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Fars News Agency quoted the statement as saying: “The security and maintenance of the stability of this vital waterway are the red line of the powerful armed forces of Islamic Iran.”
After the US and Israel began their war on Iran on February 28, Tehran essentially blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, and ships passing through the region risked becoming military targets.
US, Iran talks conclude in Doha, focused on Strait of Hormuz
Iran and the United States concluded a round of indirect talks on Wednesday with no sign that they had made headway toward lasting peace, focusing instead on issues they said had been resolved when an interim agreement was announced two weeks ago.
Sources familiar with the discussions said negotiators for the two countries spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and unfreezing Iran’s funds, two critical issues under the initial agreement.
The next meeting will take place after the funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is due to be buried on July 9, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said.
The Doha discussions produced “positive progress” on issues related to the memorandum that halted the war in June and were “building on the outcomes” of a summit in Switzerland, the ministry spokesperson said in a post on X.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said the two sides were making progress on possible limits to Iran’s nuclear program — the main reason he launched the war along with Israel in February. “The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” he told reporters. “They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see.”
But the sources said the nuclear program did not come up in the talks, which were technical.
US Vice President JD Vance said that the matter would be addressed later. “Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue; we’re going to start talking about that,” he told reporters.
American and Iranian negotiators held separate meetings with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and top US envoy Steve Witkoff, dispatched to the region for what the White House had billed as “high-level” talks, did not attend the sessions, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The leader of Iran’s delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, said the talks concluded. Neither side said whether they had managed to bridge any of their differences.