The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has entered its third day. According to U.S. Central Command, the blockade is being enforced by more than 10,000 U.S. troops, over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft. Vessels traveling to or from non-Iranian ports are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This comes after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks collapsed over the weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan. President Trump told the New York Post Tuesday that new U.S.-Iran talks “could be happening over the next two days.” Separately, Trump told Fox News that the war is “close to over.” Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days.

Since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran erupted, the U.S. military has acknowledged 399 American troops have been wounded. Iran’s forensic chief told state media that more than 3,000 Iranians have been killed. The president of Iran’s Red Crescent Society said that emergency teams had rescued more than 7,200 Iranians from rubble after U.S. and Israeli bombings. This is Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

President Masoud Pezeshkian: “By what right did they attack our country? What had we done? For what reason did they martyr our leader? What had we done? For what reason did they martyr our commanders, our scientists, our students? What was their reason? Why? What had we done? Had we attacked anyone? Had we violated any law? What had we done?”