War in West Asia LIVE: Following US strikes, Tehran targets Bahrain and Kuwait; Khamenei's funeral procession is held in Iraq.
Iraq is currently hosting a funeral procession for Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader who was killed. On Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Iran's top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that Tehran would not permit U.S. interference in the management of the Strait of Hormuz and declared that Iranian armed forces would deliver a "crushing response" after accusing the U.S. military of targeting portions of southern Iran in what it called a "blatant act of aggression." After three commercial vessels were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. forces commenced strikes on Iran on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, according to the US military, drastically intensifying a conflict that has already rocked attempts to put an end to the conflict in West Asia. The "powerful" strikes, according to U.S. Central Command, were a reaction to Iranian attacks on ships passing through the crucial canal and would "impose heavy cost...