US weighing ground assaults inside Iran – The Atlantic

US Vice President JD Vance has been in contact with intermediaries about the Iran war, including as recently as Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing a source briefed on the matter.

The source said US President Donald Trump directed Vance to privately communicate that he was open to a ceasefire if certain US demands were met, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Vance also delivered what a source described as a “stern message” in contacts with intermediaries that Trump was growing impatient and warned there would be increasing pressure on Tehran unless it agreed to a deal.

An oil tanker leased to state-owned QatarEnergy was hit by an Iranian cruise missile in Qatari waters on Wednesday, but no casualties were reported, Qatar’s defense ministry said.

The ministry said Qatar was targeted by three cruise missiles launched from Iran, with two intercepted and a third striking the Aqua One oil tanker.

The strike marked another escalation in the threat to shipping and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf waters during the war.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards said earlier in the day that they had attacked the oil tanker.

"Aqua One was precisely targeted in the central region of the Persian Gulf in a missile battle," state media quoted the IRGC as saying.

The IRGC’s statement described the vessel as belonging to Israel, adding that it was hit in a missile attack by its naval forces and was burning.

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s new leadership has requested a ceasefire but said any decision would depend on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran’s New Regime President... has just asked the United States... for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion... back to the Stone Ages,” he added.

Panahi entered the country on Tuesday by land via Turkey due to flight restrictions, the sources said.

He had been outside Iran to promote his film It Was Just an Accident, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

Panahi had previously said he would return to Iran after the Oscar campaign despite potential risks. “As soon as the campaign ends, I will return to Iran,” he said in a February interview.

The director has faced years of legal pressure in Iran, including a one-year prison sentence issued in absentia on charges of propaganda against the state, along with a two-year travel ban and other restrictions.

Panahi had faced a long-standing travel ban before being able to travel for the film’s international release. His work, often made despite official restrictions, has focused on social and political issues and drawn on his own experiences of detention and surveillance.

Iran warned Bulgaria not to allow the United States to use its airports for military operations linked to Iran, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raikov confirmed Sofia received a note from Tehran last month protesting US military aircraft at a Bulgarian airport.

He said Bulgaria is not involved in the conflict and no combat aircraft are being loaded in the country for operations in the region.