Iran said Sunday it was ready to confront U.S. forces on the ground and accused Washington of secretly planning attacks while seeking negotiations to end the war.
“The enemy is openly sending messages of negotiation and dialogue, but is secretly planning a ground attack,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to state media IRNA and state news agency Tasnim.
“The United States does not realize that it is waiting for American soldiers to enter the ground so that they can set fires on the ground and punish our regional partners forever,” he added.
His comments came hours after The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon is developing plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran ahead of a full-scale invasion, even as President Donald Trump and key White House officials have signaled a desire to end the conflict quickly. NBC News has not confirmed the report.
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Meanwhile, the United States is increasing its military capabilities in the region. US Central Command said in a post to X that the USS Tripoli arrived in the Middle East on Saturday as part of a replenishment of 3,500 troops.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Iran has not responded to a 15-point peace proposal sent by U.S. negotiators aimed at ending the war, but that Iran is “willing to talk about certain things.”
But the hardliner Ghalibaf, one of Iran’s few surviving major politicians, cited the 15-point list and accused the United States of “pursuing through diplomacy what it could not achieve through war.”
“As long as Americans call for Iran’s surrender, your sons’ response to that request is clear. We will never accept humiliation,” he told the Iranian people.
President Donald Trump announced last week that he would extend the deadline for halting attacks on Iranian power plants, following positive progress in negotiations with the Iranian regime.
President Trump has said negotiations to end the war are progressing “very well,” but Tehran insists they are not negotiating.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement responding to questions about the possibility of sending troops to Iran: “It’s the Department of Defense’s job to be prepared to give the commander-in-chief the maximum amount of choice. That doesn’t mean the president has made the decision.”
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on March 20, “We’re not going to send the military anywhere.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll never say never, but I’m not going to send in the troops,” he added.
Centcom announced on Saturday that thousands of U.S. troops had arrived in the Middle East, citing “transport and attack fighter aircraft, amphibious assault and tactical assets” as military assets in the region.
Thirteen U.S. military personnel have died during the war with Iran, and two more have died from non-combat causes.
