Syria bombing kills nine, Iran prepares for Khamenei funeral and Bahrain condemns Tehran at UN

In today’s episode of Trending Middle East, Syria investigates a deadly bombing near Damascus’s main courthouse, after the attack killed nine people and injured more than 20. We also look ahead to the funeral of Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Public ceremonies are to begin this weekend before a series of processions across Iran and Iraq, while officials say Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is unlikely to appear because of security concerns. At the UN, Bahrain accuses Iran of carrying out hundreds of attacks on civilian infrastructure across the Gulf, saying missile and drone strikes have targeted residential areas, desalination plants, airports and critical facilities. Bahrain warned the attacks "threaten the security of the entire region". Meanwhile, shipping data suggests traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is gradually returning to normal, with analysts reporting growing confidence among vessel operators despite the regional tension. And in the UAE, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, launches the Companies for Good 2031 Strategy, aiming to generate more than Dh20 billion ($5.44 billion) in corporate social responsibility projects over the next five years. Trending Middle East is AI-assisted, using original reporting published in The National and curated and edited by humans.