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Mourners gather ahead of the funeral of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei and members of his family at the Shrine of Imam Reza, in Mashhad on July 9, 2026. [AFP]
New fighting erupted between the United States and Iran hours ahead of the burial of longtime supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday, with Tehran targeting US allies in the region and American strikes hitting the perimeter of an Iranian nuclear power plant.
The renewed hostilities, triggered by tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, sparked concerns of a return to full-scale war after an April ceasefire and a June US-Iran accord ended five weeks of conflict.
This was the second day in a row that the decades-old foes exchanged attacks, with Iranian officials reporting the US attacks had killed 17 people.