Iran says it is ‘waiting’ for a possible U.S. ground assault as 3,500 troops arrive in Middle East

Iran said Sunday it is ready to face U.S. troops on the ground, accusing Washington of secretly planning an assault while seeking negotiations to end the war.

“The enemy, openly, sends messages of negotiation and dialogue, but secretly is planning a ground attack,” Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to state media outlet IRNA and state-affiliated Tasnim.

The U.S. is “unaware that our men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze and punish their regional partners forever,” he added.

His comments came hours after The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has drawn up plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran short of a full-scale invasion, even as President Donald Trump and key White House figures signal they want to soon draw the conflict to a close. NBC News has not confirmed the report.

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Meanwhile, the U.S. has reinforced its military strength in the region. The USS Tripoli arrived in the Middle East on Saturday as part of a complement of 3,500 troops, U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Iran has not responded to a 15-point peace proposal intended to end the war sent by U.S. negotiators, but said that there was a “willingness to talk about certain things” from the Iranian side.

But Ghalibaf, a hard-liner who is one of Iran’s few surviving major political figures, accused the U.S. of “pursuing through diplomacy what it failed to achieve in war,” citing the 15-point list.

“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, the response of your sons to these wishes is clear. We will never accept humiliation,” he said, addressing everyday Iranians.

President Donald Trump said last week that he would extend the deadline for halting strikes on Iran’s power plants after positive developments in negotiations with the Iranian regime.

Trump said talks to end the war are going “very well,” though Tehran insists it is not negotiating.

In a statement responding to questions about the possibility of troops being sent into Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality. It does not mean the President has made a decision.”

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office March 20 that he was “not putting troops anywhere.”

“If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you, but I’m not putting troops,” he added.

CENTCOM said Saturday that thousands of American soldiers had arrived in the Middle East, listing “transport and strike fighter air craft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets” among the military assets in the region.

Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed during the war with Iran, and two more have died of noncombat causes.