Iran says it is ready and waiting for US troops to launch a ground invasion and threatened to “set fire” to Donald Trump’s forces if they enter the Islamic Republic’s territory.
Speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran is “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire”, in a published message broadcast on Iranian state media, including the official IRNA news agency, on Sunday.
It follows overnight reports that the Pentagon is awaiting President Trump’s approval for ground operations in Iran, according to the Washington Post.
On Saturday, thousands of US sailors and marines moved to the Middle East aboard the USS Tripoli warship, US Central Command confirmed.
Mr Ghalibaf, who has been considered by the US as a potential figurehead to lead negotiations in Iran amid the absence of newly-appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said: “The enemy signals negotiation in public, while in secret it plots a ground attack.”
“Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased,” he continued, in words marking a month since the outbreak of conflict.
Iran threatened to intensify attacks in the Gulf, with Mr Ghalibaf warning America’s allies will also pay the price as Iran will “punish their regional partners forever”.
He mocked America’s 15-point plan, which he said is “setting out its wishes and pursuing what it failed to achieve in the war”. The Iranian politician said that Tehran’s message is “clear” and it will not surrender or accept “humiliation”.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen have continued to attack Israel, launching a second wave of missiles on the country less than 24 hours.
The militia has in the past attacked ships in the Red Sea corridor leading into the Suez Canal, and its entry into the conflict has heightened concerns of further disruption to global shipping amid the ongoing chaos caused by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The European Union’s maritime security body warned ships to avoid entering Yemeni territorial waters as the Houthis could resume “attacks on merchant ships” in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in a report published on Saturday.
Oil prices are on track for a record monthly surge amid the conflict, with the price of Brent crude on track to break records in March, surging by 51 per cent according to London Stock Exchange Group data analysed by The Guardian.
The previous monthly record for oil price surges was in September 1990 when the price of crude rose by 46 per cent amid Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent first Gulf war.
Pakistan hosted talks with regional powers on Sunday with a view to unblocking the Strait of Hormuz, with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in discussions to float proposals on maritime traffic improvements to Washington, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
