Representatives of Tehran-backed militant groups attended the funeral ceremonies of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, with envoys from Hezbollah and Hamas meeting with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, state media reported.

Iran's ambassador to China insisted that new fees would be charged to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz -- an idea rejected by Washington -- while assuring that "friendly" nations would receive special treatment.

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu could visit the White House as early as next week, U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios, adding that the prime minister "knows who the boss is" in their relationship.

Yemen's Houthis threatened Saudi airports and vital assets should Riyadh violate its airspace or attempt to attack it, as the rebels accused the kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian plane from landing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Friday and agreed to meet "soon" in the United States, the premier's office said.

Mourners filed through Damascus on Friday, a day after an explosive device set off in a cafe in the Syrian capital killed nine people.

The funeral procession in the normally bustling Midan neighborhood carried the coffins of three of the blast victims. Another 20 were wounded in the explosion at a popular cafe near the capital's main judicial complex, which was often frequented by lawyers.

Iran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across Tehran urging the public to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.

The country's theocracy plans to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent to the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

Months after the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of its war with the United States and Israel, mourners will hold a dayslong funeral and burial for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The mourning period will see Khamenei's body carried through cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Iran's theocracy likely will encourage the public, government employees and paramilitary forces to fill the streets in his honor.

A bomb went off at a cafe in central Damascus on Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding 16, Syrian authorities said.

The blast took place near the capital's Palace of Justice, a key government building, sparking scenes of panic in the busy area.

Iran's joint military command warned Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a "forceful response," again ratcheting up tensions over a waterway crucial for international energy supplies.

The strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has emerged as one of the top issues in negotiations to reach a permanent end to the Iran war. The statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command, reported by Iranian state television, comes after both U.S. and Iranian diplomats met with mediators on Wednesday in Qatar.