"Will set American troops on fire": Iran warns US against ground assault
Iran's parliamentary speaker claimed on Sunday that the United States was planning a ground attack on the country despite publicly appearing to engage in diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East.
"The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack," said Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf 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, calling for unity among Iranians and saying the country was in "a major global war" that has reached its "most critical" stage.
"We are certain that we can punish the United States, make it regret attacking Iran, and firmly secure our legitimate rights," he said.
Meanwhile, in the US, the Washington Post also reports that the Pentagon has been drawing up plans for a possible ground offensive "for weeks." However, it remains unclear whether US President Donald Trump would approve such plans given his previous promises to keep US troops out of foreign wars.
Senior US figures have repeatedly ruled out ground operations against Iran, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisting on Friday that Washington can achieve its goals via aerial bombing and without "boots on the ground."
Iran: What would a US ground offensive look like?
Nevertheless, he refused to categorically rule out deploying ground troops and thousands of US soldiers have been redeployed from Asia to the Middle East in recent weeks, including marines from the 31st and 11th expeditionary units and paratroopers from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division. The Wall Street Journal has also reported on up to 10,000 additional US Army infantry who may be deployed to the Gulf.
The numbers are vastly fewer than the hundreds of thousands of American and allied troops involved in the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars, and they lack comparable armored and logistical support, but they could feasibly conduct limited raids on key Iranian installations in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
One potential target for a US ground attack could be the strategically important island of Kharg towards the northern end of the Persian Gulf, via which 90% of Iran's crude oil exports pass.
President Trump has had Kharg island in his personal sights for decades, telling The Guardian back in 1988: "One bullet shot at one of our men or ships and I'd do a number on Kharg Island. I'd go in and take it."
