The odds of imminent boots on the ground are soaring...

*  *  *

Indirect Talks Collapse: 'Dead End'

Given the pace of tit-for-tat airstrikes and escalation against infrastructure - in Iran, across the Gulf, as well as in Israel - this is not surprising:

The current round of efforts by regional countries led by Pakistan to reach a cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran has reached a dead end, mediators said Friday.

Iran has officially told the mediators it isn't willing to meet U.S. officials in Islamabad in the coming days and that U.S. demands are unacceptable, the mediators said.

Tehran is settling in for a long war, hoping to keep imposing serious costs on America, the global economy, and on Washington's allies. The White House has at various points over the last days and weeks presented a level of optimism for talks that just wasn't there in reality. 

'More Time' To Retake Strait, 'Make A Fortune': Trump

With some US Special Forces units already in the region, and with thousands more Marines and Sailors en route, and after Trump earlier floated at least two to three more weeks of major strikes on Iran, the president on Friday morning wrote on Truth Social that "with a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE... 

This as the question of some kind of direct ground intervention, likely starting with strategic islands near the Strait, could be unfolding. Certainly the timeline has stayed open-ended and keeps getting extended with pledges of just 'a little more time'. Easily?

And this more specific threat was issued a day earlier, the same day as Iran's B1 bridge getting destroyed by a deadly double-tap strike...

Over 140 Rockets Rain Down During Passover in Israel

It's the Passover period in Israel, and Iranian and Hezbollah missiles have been unrelenting, with The Wall Street Journal documenting that they unleashed more than 140 rockets and missiles on Israel, citing the Israeli military - highlighting sustained firepower more than five weeks into the war, and after various estimates have claimed Iran's stockpile is diminishing.

Tehran fired roughly 20 missiles that penetrated Israeli territory, while Hezbollah launched over 120 rockets into northern Israel within a 24-hour window from early Wednesday to Thursday, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said. The military described the barrage as an escalation on both fronts, also as this week the Houthis have become direct launches on Israel, having confirmed coordination in these waves with Tehran.