‘We are waiting’: Iran issues chilling warning to US as fears of a full-scale ground invasion soar
The comments come as delegations from Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia meet in Pakistan to discuss how to end the fighting in West Asia, while the US deploys 2,500 Marines to the region.
Amid reports of a potential US ground assault, Iran has issued a warning to Washington that Iranian forces “are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever.”
“Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased,” said Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the country’s parliament speaker.
The comments came in the backdrop of delegations from Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia meeting in Pakistan to discuss how to end the fighting in West Asia, while the US deploys 2,500 Marines to the region.
On the other hand, Israel is planning to widen its invasion of Lebanon to expand the “existing security strip” in that country’s south while targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Another Iranian proxy, the Houthis of Yemen, entered the conflict on Saturday, launching a ballistic missile at Israel, raising fears of another key maritime route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, getting choked.
Tehran has held a fifth of global energy supplies hostage with its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. More than 300 US service members have been injured, with at least 13 reported killed.
Amid the mounting global energy crisis and America’s rift with NATO allies, Iran has also resorted to psychological warfare.
Earlier, following recurring reports of US President Donald Trump considering a ground assault and takeover of Iran’s Kharg Island, which handles 90 per cent of Tehran’s oil exports, the Islamic Republic appeared to signal its awareness, with the front page of The Tehran Times reading: “Welcome to Hell.” It added that “US troops who set foot on Iranian soil will leave only in a coffin.”
Iran has utilised nearly every aspect of its asymmetric advantage, including economical Shahed ‘suicide’ drones. On Saturday, an Iranian missile barrage on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base damaged an AWAC stationed at the facility, dealing a blow to American air superiority in West Asia.
The Department of Defense had sought $200 billion in additional funds from Congress in the first month of the war.
The current conflict began when joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 killed its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several other military and political leaders. Gulf countries housing US bases have come under Iranian attacks since it started.
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According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from July 2024, there are eight persistent bases and 11 other military sites that the US Department of Defense can access in the region.
While Iran has maintained that the American and Israeli establishments in the region are its “legitimate targets,” various civilian installations and energy facilities have also been targeted.
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