Britain and France have made the first European move to secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announcing in a joint statement their readiness to deploy a multinational military mission to support freedom of navigation through the strait.
The statement clarified that the Sultanate of Oman had agreed to work with the United Kingdom and France to ensure that its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation.
This development comes as Iran began funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The continued absence of his son and designated successor Mojtaba, who was wounded in the war and has made no public appearances — particularly as the funeral proceedings began — has prompted growing questions about who is actually running the country.
The funeral coincides with American celebrations of the 250th Independence Day, on which occasion US President Donald Trump confirmed that Iran is begging for a settlement, revealing that both sides had agreed to suspend negotiations and strikes for one week pending the conclusion of Khamenei's funeral.
Trump confirmed that a ceasefire had been agreed for this period, saying: "They're all there. One shot (and we could take them all out), but we won't do that because then we'd have no one to negotiate with."
Iran is seeking to transform the funeral proceedings into an event that goes beyond farewell to become a lifeline for the regime. The six-day ceremonies, stretching from Tehran to Iraq and then Mashhad, carry a political dimension at a time when the Iranian regime is attempting to demonstrate its cohesion after the war by mobilising crowds at the funeral — sending messages to both domestic and international audiences to project an image suggesting that its base of support remains intact, despite the war, the pressures, and the changes that have taken place at the apex of power. Throughout, Mojtaba remains the most conspicuous absentee from the political scene and from his father's funeral.