Vessels Divert from Strait of Hormuz Route Amid Khamenei Funeral, Iran Opposes Transit

US-Iran War Live Updates: Four vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via the southern route along Oman’s coast have altered course, ship-tracking firm Windward said — two turned back, two diverted to a central corridor. Iran opposes the route, which runs through Oman’s territorial waters and was announced by Oman, the US and the UN in late June; Tehran has previously attacked at least two ships using it. Iran claims sole authority over Strait traffic for a 60-day period under its MoU with the US and is negotiating with Oman to impose transit fees once that window ends. Overall traffic through the Strait is recovering modestly but remains well below pre-war levels, ship-trackers say.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.

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