Iranian Military Issues Warnings on Strait of Hormuz and US Interference

Iran’s military headquarters stated that all commercial vessels must follow the Iranian-designated maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz or face consequences, @AJEnglish reported. The headquarters added that any US interference in the strait would meet a decisive and swift response from the armed forces.

It described the strait as the territory of Iran’s undisputed sovereignty and called its security and stability a red line.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters separately warned the United States, Israel and their regional accomplices against any miscalculation, saying it would be met with a harsh response. The headquarters declared full readiness to safeguard Iran’s independence, security and territorial integrity.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the funeral of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from July 3 to 5, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters.

Khamenei, who was 86 and had served as supreme leader for 36 years, was killed on February 28. His funeral ceremonies will begin in Tehran on July 4 and end with burial on July 9 in Mashhad. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called for a massive turnout at the funeral ceremonies starting Saturday.

He said the nation’s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world. Israeli settlers forced their way into Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem’s Old City under Israeli police protection, @AJEnglish reported. Palestine’s official Wafa news agency said the settlers entered the courtyards and performed Talmudic rituals.

The compound sits on a plateau in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem called on the Arab League to convene an emergency meeting regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen stated that Israel now controls nearly 70 percent of the Gaza Strip and intends to expand that to 100 percent.