Iranian leader buried as regional tensions raise insurance costs and diplomatic activity

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was interred on Thursday following his assassination, with his son Mojtaba absent from the funeral due to security concerns. The burial comes as the region experiences a surge in military strikes, prompting insurers to sharply raise war-risk premiums for vessels passing the Strait of Hormuz.

London-based marine insurers said rates for ships crossing the strait jumped to as high as 10% of a vessel’s value after recent U.S. and Israeli attacks, before falling back to 1-3% in the following days. Underwriters now price policies only hours before a voyage and issue them for short periods of three to seven days, according to David Smith of McGill and Partners and Marcus Baker of Marsh.

In a separate development, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call, during which they affirmed continued coordination on regional matters, a statement released by the Israeli prime minister’s office.

U.S. officials indicated that recent strikes were deliberately limited to avoid escalation while diplomatic channels remain open, and that preparations for additional actions are ongoing. On the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, crews loaded fighter jets and conducted drills in anticipation of possible missions over the Hormuz corridor.