Only three fuel tankers seen transiting Strait of Hormuz - CBS

The naval arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday that "foreigners have no place in this land and the Strait of Hormuz," warning that any US “intervention” in shipping routes would disrupt the gradual reopening of the waterway.

In a statement, the IRGC Navy said it had restored traffic through the Strait to about 50% of pre-war levels and was increasing capacity for vessels that obtained permission to use routes designated by Iran.

It said any attempt by the US military to determine shipping routes would bring "a crushing response" and jeopardize the interests of countries using the Strait.

The responses shared with Iran International and posted on X and Instagram pointed less to enthusiasm for military escalation than to exhaustion after nearly four months of conflict. Many described life in a state of “neither war nor peace,” where even short-term decisions have been put on hold.

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  We live through decisions we don't make

They spoke of worsening economic pressure, constant anxiety and tighter security conditions, as the United States and Iran traded a fresh round of attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, throwing their fragile agreement to end the war into deeper doubt.

The US military said it struck about 90 targets across Iran after Trump said the interim deal with Tehran is over for him, citing Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

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  Trump says Iran memorandum is over, calls Tehran leaders 'scums'

Iran responded with strikes on US-linked targets in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, as both sides accused each other of violating the interim agreement.

The Pentagon said it targeted Iranian military sites involved in attacks on commercial shipping.

Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two railway bridges on the route to Mashhad, where authorities planned to bury former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday. Fars said one was the Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province, part of a northern route to China and Russia that became more important after the US blockade of Iran’s Persian Gulf ports.

Many messages sent to Iran International linked the timing of the strikes to Khamenei’s funeral, saying they disrupted what the Islamic Republic had tried to stage as a show of unity and political continuity.

“I hope this time the war makes a difference and this cancer is removed from the root. We’re all suffering,” one citizen wrote.

Others saw Trump’s tougher language as a sign that diplomacy with Tehran had reached a dead end.

“Should we tell Trump, ‘We told you so,’ or is it still too early?” one message read.

Another wrote: “Mr. Trump seems to have only just realized what kind of creature he is dealing with.”

Several urged Trump not to return to negotiations.

“Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu and NATO leaders, have you realized yet that negotiating with the Islamic Republic is a waste of time?” one message said.

Another person in Tehran wrote: “Mr. Trump, you say bad days are coming for Iran. Come here for one day. If you find even one good day under the Islamic Republic, you’ll see the hell they have created for the people.”

Hope tempered by fear

Despite welcoming Trump's apparent shift away from diplomacy, several said they feared another drawn-out conflict that would deepen economic hardship without bringing meaningful political change.

"Mr. Trump, please stop. We don't know whether to worry about war, inflation, the dollar or our future," one citizen wrote.

Another said: "I'm only worried that war starts again but nothing changes. If war is inevitable, I hope it benefits the people of Iran."

Some openly encouraged stronger military action.

"President Trump, please finish the job quickly. People, don't lose hope. Our day of freedom is near," one message read.

Another added: "I'm a Trump supporter. I like him. He's a superpower that nobody can challenge. But sometimes he goes off script. Please, President Trump, finish the job this time. It's hard living in your own country with a group of criminals."

Others remained skeptical, saying Trump's previous preference for negotiations made them doubt whether the latest strikes would ultimately produce lasting change.

'Mohammad Something' becomes an instant meme

Trump's remarks on Wednesday also generated a wave of satire after he seemingly referred to chief negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf as "Mohammad something" while describing US surveillance of Iran's nuclear facilities.

The phrase quickly became one of the most widely shared jokes among Persian-language users on X, spawning countless memes aimed at senior Iranian officials.

X user Amin Parvin wrote: "We are living in a state of no war, no peace, no ceasefire and Mohammad Something."

Another user wrote: "Mohammad Something, Mojtaba (Khamenei) Nothing. You've become the laughing stock of the world."

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  Trump says Iran is 'finished', experts say Tehran won big

Many directed the joke at Ghalibaf’s page after Trump appeared unable to recall his name.

"Mohammad Something, write your will. Trump didn't even bother learning your surname," one post said.

Another wrote: "Mohammad Something, it looks like this time it's your turn."

Reading Trump's strategy

Beyond the humor, users also debated whether Trump's harsher rhetoric signaled the abandonment of diplomacy or a negotiating tactic designed to force Iranian concessions.

"Trump is playing cat and mouse with them. He doesn't want a full-scale war yet. He's waiting for their response before deciding what to do next," one X user wrote.

Another posted: "I'm genuinely happy Trump is finally seeing their true nature."

Others argued Trump still preferred a negotiated settlement but believed military pressure had become his principal leverage.

"Trump loves being able to say he defeated them without war, so he's trying to disarm them through negotiations," one user wrote. "But their file is closed. Trump himself has said they'll lose their uranium either through negotiations or through war."

The Islamic Republic sought to turn Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies in Iraq into a regional show of loyalty, using processions in Najaf and Karbala to suggest that his authority reached beyond Iran even as Tehran’s allied network faces growing pressure.

After funeral processions in Tehran and Qom, the coffins of Khamenei and several members of his family, who were killed in the February 28 US-Israeli attack, were taken on Tuesday to Najaf, home to the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

They were transferred on Wednesday to Karbala, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein. Both cities carry deep religious symbolism for Shiites, especially in narratives of martyrdom, sacrifice and political defiance.

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After funeral processions in Tehran and Qom, the coffins of Khamenei and several members of his family, who were killed in the February 28 US-Israeli attack, were taken on Tuesday to Najaf, home to the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

They were transferred on Wednesday to Karbala, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein. Both cities carry deep religious symbolism for Shiites, especially in narratives of martyrdom, sacrifice and political defiance.

Political analyst Iman Aghayari told Iran International that the Islamic Republic was using the ceremonies to present Khamenei’s influence as extending beyond Iran’s borders.

He said Tehran also wanted to signal to Western governments that its influence in countries hosting allied armed groups “is not confined to those proxy forces, but is rooted among the people of those countries as well.”

A funeral staged across Shiite centers

A number of current and former Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, along with Shiite and Sunni political, military and religious figures, welcomed the funeral delegation at Najaf airport.

The delegation was led by Khamenei’s eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei, and accompanied by President Masoud Pezeshkian, who cut short his visit and returned to Tehran early Wednesday following renewed US military strikes.

The Iraqi government declared Wednesday a public holiday to facilitate attendance and organized transportation for mourners traveling to Najaf and Karbala.

Iranian state media, citing Iraqi officials and the Popular Mobilization Forces, said more than two million people attended the ceremony in Najaf, while participation in Karbala was reported to be more than double that number.

The figures could not be independently verified.

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A claimed display of strength

Supporters of the Islamic Republic portrayed the ceremonies as proof of regional solidarity behind the so-called Axis of Resistance, Tehran’s network of allied governments, militias and political movements across the Middle East.

Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, said the funeral procession in Iraq would “make the red line of vengeance more prominent” and “further strengthen the united resolve of the Iraqi and Iranian peoples against American conspiracies.”

Defa Press, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s armed forces, described the ceremonies as “a transnational display of the Axis of Resistance’s power and confidence,” saying they showed political unity between Iran and Iraq.

Writing for the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, political commentator Aghil Emami argued that the funeral proved the two nations’ loyalty to “shared ideals and the transnational leadership of the Islamic Revolution.”

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Religious symbolism and political messaging

Holding funeral ceremonies in Iraq – home to one of the world’s largest Shiite populations after Iran – carried both religious and political value for the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state media and some Iraqi Shiite politicians and outlets framed the processions through the language of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom, presenting Shiites as a unified political community confronting what they called “American arrogance” across the region.

For Tehran, the symbolism was especially important after Khamenei’s death and amid uncertainty over the future of its regional network.

The ceremonies allowed Iranian officials and supporters to link Khamenei’s legacy to the shrines of Najaf and Karbala, while also trying to reinforce the religious legitimacy of the Islamic Republic and of his successor.

The hardline X account Rah-e Deylami argued that Iraq, once Iran’s wartime enemy in the 1980s, had become “one of the pillars of the Axis of Resistance thanks to the blood of the martyred leader” and his policies.

It also pointed to mourners carrying photographs of Mojtaba Khamenei, saying the funeral had become “a ceremony of allegiance to his worthy successor” and that “Khamenei’s Iraqi followers have come to declare that they will continue this path.”

Such claims are difficult to measure against actual public sentiment in Iraq, where attitudes toward Iran and Iran-backed groups have long been mixed and politically contested.

AFinnish supermarket group has found itself unexpectedly drawn into Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies after footage from Iraq appeared to show his coffin being unloaded from a refrigerated truck carrying K-Group branding.

The scene, filmed in Karbala and circulated by Reuters, showed a large crowd surrounding a refrigerated truck marked with orange-and-white logos resembling those of Finland’s K Group, part of the retail giant Kesko. Men in dark clothing then pulled a coffin from the frosted rear compartment and carried it above the crowd.

The footage was filmed during the Iraqi leg of Khamenei’s funeral processions, which moved through Najaf and Karbala before his planned burial in Mashhad on July 9.

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