A powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged from hiding as Tehran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral of Khamenei, 86, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran’s theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday night near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.

Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say.

He is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding after being reportedly wounded in the Feb. 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.

Vahidi himself hasn’t been seen publicly since Feb. 8, weeks before the Iran war began.

Video published by Iranian state media showed the mourning ceremony for Khamenei near the husseiniyah at his compound in Tehran.

Oil prices rose slightly today before a long holiday weekend in the U.S. as wary optimism held ​over efforts to make peace in the Middle East ‌between the US and Iran.

Brent futures were up 17 cents, or 0.24 per cent, to $72.10 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate was up 14 ​cents, or 0.20 per cent, to $68.83 a barrel.

US markets will close on ​Friday ahead of the US Independence Day holiday on ⁠Saturday.

A widening rift has opened up between Saudi Arabia and the United States because of the war in Iran, a report claims.

Officials told the Wall Street Journal the partnership between Washington and Riyadh is souring over disputes on how President Donald Trump has handled the war, which began after joint US-Israel strikes on Iran in February.

The US is reportedly now considering reducing its military presence in Saudi Arabia and instead putting its forces in countries it feels were more supportive during the war, including Israel and Jordan, according to the WSJ.

The White House, meanwhile, has insisted relations between the US and Saudi are still strong.

Polymarket, a prediction market, has reported that some European leaders are saying that a toll in the Strait of Hormuz is now seen as “inevitable”.

It was not immediately clear which leaders believe this or what the reports were based on, in the short post shared on their social media page on X.

It speculated that there is now a 44 per cent chance that Iran will implement such a toll by the end of August.

President Donald Trump has insisted that he will now agree to the imposition of a toll over the vital shipping route. But reports have suggested that Iran and Oman may seek to implement a charge for commercial ships.

Polymarket, a prediction market, has reported that some European leaders are saying that a toll in the Strait of Hormuz is now seen as “inevitable”.

It was not immediately clear which leaders believe this or what the reports were based on, in the short post shared on their social media page on X.

President Donald Trump has insisted that he will now agree to the imposition of a toll over the vital shipping route. But reports have suggested that Iran and Oman may seek to implement a charge for commercial ships.

President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to “just about everything we need”, according to Reuters.

Discussions and negotiations are ongoing in an effort to secure a permanent ceasefire between the countries.

British member of Parliament Bob Blackman has hit out at Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the last shah of Iran and Crown Prince of the Pahlavi dynasty.

Pahlavi was positioned as a replacement to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei but appears to have been unable to mobilise enough support or resources to return to Iran amid the ongoing war.

In a post on X on Thursday, Blackman wrote: “Reza Pahlavi should not be given a platform to justify replacing one form of authoritarian rule with another.

An Iranian political scientist once accused by the feds of working as an unregistered agent for Tehran has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against FIFA, association president Gianni Infantino, and an unknown number of anonymous FIFA officials after the nation’s World Cup team was eliminated from competition by a controversial on-field call.

Lotfolah Kaveh Afrasiabi, who, among other things, served as an official adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team when talks were underway with former president Barack Obama, is petitioning for class-action status on behalf of up to 91 million “Iranian nationals and/or Iranian-Americans who supported the Iran football national team and who were emotionally scarred by the flagrant discrimination against their beloved team,” according to a civil complaint filed June 30 in Boston federal court.