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Our live coverage is now closed and will be back tomorrow at 9am BST. You can read more of The New Arab's coverage here.
Iran issues Hormuz warning as millions attend Khamenei funeral
Millions of people are gathering in Tehran for the funeral of the slain supreme leader who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on 28 February.
![Khamenei [Getty]](/sites/default/files/2283909929.jpeg)
Our live coverage of developments in the Middle East is closed and will be back tomorrow at 9am BST.
Here are the top stories we tracked this evening:
• Iran's deputy foreign minister issued a "serious warning" over foreign military deployments in the Strait of Hormuz after the UK and France said they would work with Oman to secure the strategic waterway.
• Iran's ambassador to China insisted Saturday that new fees would be charged to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz - an idea rejected by Washington - while assuring that "friendly" nations would receive special treatment.
• Lebanese media have reported fresh Israeli strikes in the south of the country, despite signing a framework agreement with Lebanon last month to end the conflict.
1:00 AM
Two Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on Gaza
11:52 PM
Two Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, with one being killed in a drone attack on the Asqoula junction in Gaza City, and another in a drone strike on the Abu Sharikh roundabout in Jabalia refugee camp, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Khamenei's IRGC representative defends negotiators
10:46 PM
The representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has defended the country's negotiators against accusations of treason from hardline conservatives over a recent memorandum of understanding with the United States.
Abdollah Hajji Sadeghi said accusing Iranian officials of betraying the country or acting against the wishes of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was incompatible with the leader’s own position.
In a message addressed to IRGC commanders and members of the Basij paramilitary force, Hajji Sadeghi said officials whom Khamenei had described as "sincere, hardworking and well-intentioned" should not be branded as traitors. He also rejected claims that the MoU, which Khamenei had authorised, was illegitimate.
"The Supreme Leader’s message should be the final reference for understanding our duties," Hajji Sadeghi said, stressing that differences of opinion should not divert the country from loyalty to the leadership.
Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Iran’s highest authority following the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. His funeral was held on Saturday.
Pilot zones: Has Lebanon walked into Israel's trap?
10:43 PM
The last time Lebanon and Israel signed an American-brokered agreement, it took less than a year to die.
The 17 May Agreement of 1983 ended the state of war between the two countries, set out mutual recognition of sovereignty, and laid down a timetable for Israeli forces to withdraw from the country they had invaded the year before.
That deal did not survive the test of time. Israeli negotiators had added a clause that their troops would leave only once Syrian forces left too, and Syria, which had never sat at the table, simply refused.
The clause handed Damascus a veto over the whole arrangement, and Damascus used it. Beirut abrogated the deal within 10 months, and Israel stayed in the south for another 16 years.
It was an almost unachievable clause, and history is repeating itself in 2026.
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