Iranian authorities are laying the groundwork for a "grand" funeral for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, official media reported Friday, following a lengthy postponement due to the Islamic republic's war with the United States and Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to occupy 70% of Gaza, in violation of the US-brokered ceasefire deal between West Jerusalem and Hamas, which allows Israel to control no more than 53% of the enclave.

More than a million Muslims are gathering in Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage overshadowed by the Middle East war, as animosity smoulders across the region despite a fragile ceasefire.

Tehran could respond militarily to US naval forces enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official has said, warning that the Gulf of Oman could become a “graveyard” for American warships.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the public to cut their fuel usage by returning to public transport and remote office work amid the energy supply disruptions caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.

US President Donald Trump has called Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal for ending the war “totally unacceptable,” after Tehran insisted it would not surrender its strategic leverage in the Strait of Hormuz without concessions.

A senior commander from Hezbollah's elite force was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, the first on the area in nearly a month, a source close to the group said.

World leaders on Tuesday piled pressure on Tehran to stick to diplomacy to bring an end to the Middle East war, after a salvo of attacks in the region left a ceasefire crumbling.

Kuwait exported zero barrels of crude oil last month, according to data from a shipping monitor, marking the first such halt since the 1991 Gulf War.  

The international advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has accused Israel of kidnapping journalists traveling on board the Gaza-bound activist flotilla, which was intercepted by the Israeli Navy on Thursday.

 Iran said on Thursday it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on US positions if Washington renewed attacks and restated its claim to the Strait of ​Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the waterway.

The price of Brent crude oil rose to $126 on Thursday as US-Iran talks stalled and reports that US President Donald Trump may extend the blockade of Iranian ports.