Relative calm after US, Iran trade strikes

Relative calm settled on Friday after two days of tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran, as Tehran completed burial rites for its late supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Mediators, meanwhile, are ramping up efforts to pull the two foes back to negotiations and avert a full-scale regional war.

Khamenei's flag-covered coffin was carried aloft into the shrine of Imam Reza in his home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran as a sea of people waited outside and listened to prayers, with no sign of a public appearance by his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei.

"The body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution has been laid to rest in the memorial hall of the Imam Reza Shrine," state broadcaster IRIB reported. Iran's Press TV said an estimated 41 million to 43 million people had taken part in massive funeral ceremonies starting from July 3.

State television footage showed Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Khamenei's eldest son Mostafa present at the shrine, with multiple senior officials weeping beside the leader's coffin.

The burial followed a second day of tit-for-tat assaults between Washington and Tehran.

Iranian authorities confirmed 17 civilians were killed in US airstrikes, and state media said one strike targeted a railway connecting Tehran and Mashhad. An Iranian official also accused the US of launching an airstrike late on Thursday near Iran's sole civilian nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

Iran retaliated with strikes targeting US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Missile alert sirens blared in Jordan, another US regional ally, whose military said it had intercepted eight missiles.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi discussed the latest regional developments with his Omani and Turkish counterparts as well as Pakistan's army chief in separate phone calls following renewed US strikes on Iran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. The outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions, The Associated Press commented.

Pakistan has urged "all parties" in the escalating conflict to exercise restraint, with the Foreign Ministry saying in a statement that "a renewed conflict is in no one's interest". It urged both sides to honor commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, brokered by Pakistan in April, describing it as "an enduring foundation for understanding, mutual respect and shared prosperity for the region and beyond".

A US official told CNN on Thursday that Washington and Tehran will continue technical negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, stressing the US remains committed to a diplomatic settlement. "The US is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon," he said.

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slumped sharply amid the latest regional flare-up, according to UK maritime analytics firm Lloyd's List Intelligence.

Strategic leverage

Abas Aslani, a senior researcher at the Tehran-based Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, said retaining control over the strait serves as Iran's core deterrent against escalating US military attacks.

"The Strait of Hormuz is strategic leverage for Iran. If Iran hadn't insisted on upholding its jurisdiction over the waterway, the country would've faced far wider air raids and bombardment," he told Al Jazeera.

In Washington, Democratic Senator Ed Markey slammed Trump over the ongoing military confrontation with Iran, saying the administration's military actions run counter to congressional will. "If Trump won't stop bombing, Congress must cut off funding. I am leading the effort to slash Trump's war machine. End the war now," he wrote on X.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Friday that Israel stands ready to join potential future US military strikes against Iran upon Washington's request, pending formal approval from Trump. The report came one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Tehran, stating the "war is not over yet".

US media reported on Thursday that Israel handed over intelligence to Washington earlier this past week regarding "a new, specific Iranian plot to assassinate Trump". The intelligence disclosure followed Trump's unusual choice of an older aircraft for his departure from Turkiye after the NATO summit.

Contact the writers at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn