As per reports, the updates on tensions in the Middle East as of Friday (03 July) are as follows:
• Iran, Afghanistan: Iran announced it would open the Dogharoun border crossing with Afghanistan for 24 hours prior to the funeral ceremony of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, allowing Afghan nationals to enter the country to attend the proceedings, according to the governor of Taybad. Special transportation arrangements were being made to transfer attendees from the border crossing to Mashhad, where Khamenei is to be buried, with participants to be returned to the crossing following the ceremony upon retrieval of their passports. The governor noted that 2,500 visas had been issued for the occasion, though no Afghan nationals had yet entered Iran through the crossing at the time of the announcement.
• India: India announced it would send Deputy Foreign Minister Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain to represent the country at the state funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 03 July.
• Iran has issued a warning to both the United States and Israel against launching military strikes during the state funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
• Oil prices fell to pre-war levels on Thursday (02 July) as the gradual resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continued to erode the risk premium that had driven crude prices to their peak during the conflict, with West Texas Intermediate declining to approximately 68 dollars per barrel and Brent crude dropping to 71.16 dollars.
• Qatar: Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari confirmed that indirect talks between US and Iranian negotiators in Doha had yielded “positive progress” on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit. Both parties agreed to continue discussions, with the next round of talks to be scheduled at the earliest possible opportunity following the conclusion of the funeral processions for the late Iranian Supreme Leader.
• Israel: Israel’s military reportedly deployed security forces to raid Mukhmas, a village in the northern occupied West Bank, after contact was lost with several Israeli nationals who had reportedly entered the area.
• Pakistan, Iran: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced he would attend the state funeral of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with his visit to Iran and Turkey scheduled for Friday (03 July) to Sunday (05 July), according to Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tahir Andrabi.
• Lebanon, Syria: Lebanon and Syria signed a mutual respect and non-interference agreement in Beirut on Thursday (02 July) during a meeting between Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, attended by delegations from both countries. The agreement encompassed principles of cooperation including respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of both states, as well as equality between the two parties and a commitment to non-interference in each other’s affairs.
• Lebanon: Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israeli attacks had reportedly killed at least 4,298 people and wounded a further 12,196 since 02 March.
• Israel: At least seven Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcycle in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
• Israel, Lebanon: An Israeli airstrike reportedly targeted the Ghandour Hospital in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, according to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA, with no immediate reports of casualties at the time of the announcement.
• Austria resumed regular operations at its embassy in Tehran as of Wednesday (01 July), according to a social media post from the Austrian Embassy, though the resumption of consular services was noted as subject to a separate announcement at a later date.
• Israel: Israeli jets reportedly carried out a raid on the valley situated between Barashit and Shaqra in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
