Iran says talks to resume if US lifts blockade

The Iranian people should be freed from a regime that is carrying out horrific actions against them, US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) told Iran International.

“We need to be a nation that finds a way for the Iranian people to be free from a regime that is doing horrific things to its own people,” Booker said.

He added that Iranians had faced “generations of suppression of basic, fundamental human rights” and praised them as "extraordinary."

He said the war had added to the suffering of ordinary Iranians, describing civilian deaths as “a grave tragedy.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they were at the height of readiness to continue fighting and warned of crushing strikes if any attack is repeated.

In a statement marking the anniversary of the force’s founding, the IRGC said it was fully prepared for continued confrontation with its enemies.

“We are at the peak of readiness to continue the fight against enemies, and if aggression is repeated, we will deliver crushing blows beyond imagination to their assets in the region," read the statement.

A container ship was fired on by an IRGC gunboat northeast of Oman, causing heavy damage to the vessel’s bridge, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Wednesday.

UKMTO said the ship’s master reported being approached by one IRGC gunboat without any VHF challenge before shots were fired at the vessel about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.

No fire or environmental damage was reported, and all crew were safe, according to the agency.

UKMTO advised vessels in the area to report suspicious activity.

President Donald Trump is giving Iran three to five days to resolve internal divisions and return to nuclear talks or risk the collapse of a ceasefire, Axios reported, citing US officials.

Trump extended the ceasefire on Tuesday but does not plan to keep it open-ended, the report said.

US officials told Axios there are deep divisions within Iran’s leadership, including between civilian negotiators and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which have delayed a response to Washington’s latest proposal.

If Iran does not engage within days, military options could return, the report said.

Iran executed a man on Wednesday after the country’s judiciary alleged that he had “extensive cooperation” with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, judiciary-affiliated Mizan News reported.

Mehdi Farid was “a manager in the civil defense committee of one of the country’s sensitive organizations,” according to the report.

He was executed after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, Mizan said.