Khamenei Funeral Enters Day Two as US-Iran Talks Pause Over Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s six-day state funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei enters day two as US-Iran talks pause in Doha and tensions rise over the Strait of Hormuz.
A Funeral Delayed by War
Khamenei was killed on February 28 in US-Israeli airstrikes that marked the opening of the conflict, and his farewell ceremonies were pushed back for more than four months as the fighting played out. Iranian officials reportedly expect between 15 and 20 million mourners to take part over the course of the week, which would make it the largest state funeral in the country’s history.
The ceremonies opened at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, where the flag-draped coffins of Khamenei and family members killed alongside him were placed on display, including a small casket carrying his 14-month-old granddaughter. Crowds beat their chests and waved red banners, a traditional symbol of revenge in Shiite Islam, while chanting slogans against the United States and Israel
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One notable development on the funeral’s second day was a rare public appearance by three of Khamenei’s sons, Mostafa, Masoud, and Meysam. However, his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has still not been seen publicly, and reports suggest he may be recovering from wounds sustained in the February strike or staying away over security concerns. His absence has fueled ongoing uncertainty about who is actually steering the country in this period.
The funeral itself is scheduled to move through several stages: a procession through Tehran, ceremonies in Qom, a cross-border journey to the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, and finally burial in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad on July 9.
Diplomacy on Hold, Hormuz Tensions Rising
Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached weeks earlier, both sides committed to reaching a final deal within a maximum 60-day negotiating window. But according to Carnegie Middle East Program scholar Eric Lob, disagreement persists over exactly when that clock started ticking, which matters because Iran has signaled it may begin imposing tolls on commercial vessels transiting the strait around mid-August.
Iran has also pushed back sharply on suggestions from the UK and France that they could deploy naval assets to help secure freedom of navigation through Hormuz, with Iranian officials insisting that security of the waterway is the responsibility of coastal states alone.
Vance Marks US Independence Amid the Standoff
While Tehran mourned, US Vice President JD Vance used America’s 250th Independence Day to address service members, framing the founding ideals of the Declaration of Independence as a living contrast to the scenes playing out in Iran. Vance and US Central Command both used the occasion to honor troops stationed across the region, even as Washington continued monitoring the fragile ceasefire and the standoff over Hormuz.
President Trump, for his part, has described the funeral period as a temporary pause rather than a step back from negotiations, reportedly telling aides Iran is eager to reach a settlement.
Why It Matters
The overlapping timeline of a nationally unifying funeral and a fragile, still-unresolved ceasefire underscores just how unsettled the broader US-Iran relationship remains four months after the war’s opening strikes. With the 60-day negotiating window narrowing and disputes over Hormuz intensifying, the coming weeks after the funeral concludes are likely to prove pivotal for whether the ceasefire holds.