Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and members of his family were killed in a joint US-Israeli air strike in February.
Ship-tracking firm Windward says four vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via the southern route along Oman’s coast have altered course, with two turning back and two diverting to a central corridor.
Iran opposes ships using the southern route through Oman’s territorial waters and has previously attacked at least two vessels traveling that corridor. The route was announced by Oman, the US, and the United Nations in late June.
Tehran claims sole responsibility for managing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day period specified in its MoU with the US, and is seeking, in coordination with Oman, to impose fees for services in the waterway once that period ends.
Ship-tracking firms have been reporting a modest recovery in maritime traffic through the Strait in recent days but still well below pre-war levels.
08:47 UTC, July 4: two vessels reversed course. Two more diverted to the central corridor of the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/HdVX6xwdaE
— Windward (@WindwardAI) July 4, 2026
The new Iran is not without internal tension.
There are differences inside the state over whether talks with Washington can still produce results. The decision-making circle has also changed, and power appears more concentrated and less cautious.
Yet the country still faces sanctions, economic pressure and public fatigue that could reignite mass protests, as well as the aftermath of the war.
The post-Khamenei era is taking shape under fire.
Iran is more assertive, more regional, more willing to escalate, but also more exposed.
What is visible now may be less a settled doctrine than a series of acts of defiance by a new leader trying to prove authority.
The real test will come when the war ends, the crowds disperse, and Iran has to decide whether this era is built on confrontation alone, or something more durable.
The system in Iran has survived the assassination of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking officials, but it did not emerge unchanged.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor of the late supreme leader, has moved to assert himself. Unlike his father, he has chosen direct confrontation, outside and inside Iran, attacking neighbouring countries and pushing the conflict with the US and Israel to the edge.
Washington didn’t achieve regime change, but it may have driven change within the system itself.
At the heart of the new posture is deterrence: Iran is signalling that another war against it would be expanded beyond its borders.
Control over Hormuz has been the clearest expression of that doctrine. For Tehran, the message is simple: If Iran cannot have stability, others will not buy and sell oil as usual.
The confrontation with the US, and talks to end the war, have also become a tit-for-tat contest, with each side testing the other without knowing where the red line lies.
The shift is also visible in the wider region.
Iran has linked the war in Lebanon to any truce and retaliated after the Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs. Lebanon is no longer treated as a separate front. It is part of Iran’s wider security equation.
Then there’s the funeral of Khamenei in Iraq.
By taking the ceremony through the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, Iran is declaring that its influence across the Shia world would continue.
Iran has marked the second day of funeral processions for its late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Masses of supporters came to view his body despite a sweltering heatwave, with water misters installed at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Hall and volunteers distributing cold drinks to mourners.
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Dmitry Medvedev says Iran’s ability to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is equivalent to possession of a nuclear.
The visit would mark Netanyahu’s seventh visit to the US since Trump returned to office for a second term as president.
The Turkiye leader has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
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