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Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.

The U.S. is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war launched Feb. 28. But previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S., which then saw — raising the risk of an escalation.

Talks between Iran and the U.S., meanwhile, appear to be on hold until after the burial of , who was killed at the beginning of the war. Signs have been increasing that mourners at his funeral were calling for .

Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom overnight, where mourners honored him Tuesday.

Tanker struck in latest attack in strait

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the tanker had been hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait. The UKMTO said the projectile hit the port side of the vessel while trying to traveling south out of the strait toward the Gulf of Oman.

It said there was no environmental impact from the strike and that authorities were investigating.

Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied Tehran carried out the assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar. However, there’s been no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack.

Iran’s joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers moving through must use its approved routes. It also said that interference by U.S. forces in the strait “will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction.”

Trump on Monday at the White House warned Iran that they'd “make a deal or we're going to finish the job.”

"I'd rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people," Trump said. “We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply.”

Iran and the United States agreed to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.

say they won’t agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. An effort by Oman and a United Nations agency to launch a new route near Oman’s shore earlier sparked attacks across the Mideast, highlighting the tensions.

The data firm Kpler reported that over last weekend at least 108 ships crossed through the strait using various routes.

Mourners gather in Qom for Khamenei's funeral

Iranian state television early Tuesday aired live images from a helicopter of hundreds of thousands of people walking toward Jamkaran Mosque, just south of Qom, for a funeral service for Khamenei. The mosque is believed by Shiites to have once hosted the Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century and will one day reappear to bring justice to the world.

Images of Khamenei and his son, , were displayed on banners and posters held by mourners. Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.

At the height of the war, before an April ceasefire, Israel targeted top Iranian leaders, in at least one case to fix their position. It has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei.

Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as Khamenei is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. Khamenei was 86.