Iran’s parliament speaker yesterday accused the US of plotting a ground attack despite talking about diplomacy, after a US warship with about 3,500 military personnel arrived in the Middle East.
Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s comments come after more than a month of aerial bombardment of Iran by US and Israeli forces and ahead of talks between key regional players today.
The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening the world economy.
Photo: AP
“The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack,” Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
“Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire, and punish their regional allies once and for all,” he added.
The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying about 3,500 Marines and sailors, on Friday arrived in the Middle East.
The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations — potentially including raids on Kharg Island and sites near the Strait of Hormuz — although US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment.
Pakistan is to host today foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt in Islamabad for talks on the crisis.
As the specter of a widening conflict grew, Yemen’s Houthis on Saturday claimed their first attack of the war, firing “a barrage of cruise missiles and drones” at strategic sites in Israel.
The attacks raised concern about the war spreading to the Red Sea, with Saudi Arabia rerouting much of its oil exports there to avoid Hormuz.
On another front, Israeli attacks have continued in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2. On Saturday, the Israeli military killed three journalists in the south.
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