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On Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said about 3,500 additional soldiers arrived in the Middle East on board the USS Tripoli. Reports suggest that the US is planning to send thousands of soldiers from the army’s 82nd Airborne to the region.
The statement from Ghalibaf came after the Washington Post reported the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations, though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment.
Officials speaking to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity said discussions within the administration over the past month have touched upon the possible seizure of Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub in the Gulf, and raids into other coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz to find and destroy weapons that can target commercial and military shipping.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US could achieve its aims without ground troops but was deploying forces to the region to give Trump “maximum” flexibility.
It was not clear whether Ghalibaf was responding to the Post report.
On Wednesday, Ghalibaf had warned that intelligence reports suggested that “Iran’s enemies” were planning to occupy an Iranian island with support from an unnamed country in the region.
He said any such attempt would be met with targeted attacks on the “vital infrastructure” of the regional country – which he did not name – that assists in the operation.
Meanwhile, Iran’s navy chief Shahram Irani yesterday said that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier would be targeted if it came within range.
Trump has repeatedly spoken of diplomatic contacts with Iran, although these claims have been denied by Tehran.
Pakistan, acting as a go-between for Washington and Tehran, hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt in Islamabad for talks on the crisis.
The four-way meeting between the top diplomats of the Muslim nations was slated to discuss “a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region”, Pakistan’s foreign ministry has said.
More talks will be held today.
The US said last week it had offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, with a proposal to reopen the waterway and restrict Iran’s nuclear programme, but Tehran has rejected the list and put forward proposals of its own.
As efforts to find a negotiated end to the war inched forward, Israel’s military continued its relentless air assault on Iran, saying yesterday its forces had targeted Tehran’s weapons manufacturing infrastructure, including dozens of storage and production sites.
Five people were killed in a strike on a pier in the southern port city of Bandar-e-Khamir that also destroyed two vessels, Iranian state media reported.
Israel also hit targets in Lebanon as part of its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah, killing three Lebanese journalists in a strike on a media vehicle, Lebanon’s Al Manar TV reported, as well as a Lebanese soldier.
Early yesterday, it said one of its soldiers had been killed during combat in Lebanon.
A building housing Qatar’s Al-Araby TV in Tehran was struck by Israel yesterday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported, showing an excavator taking rubble away from a damaged multi-storey block.
Iran also continued its attacks on Israel and several Gulf states.
Iranian forces said they had fired a volley of missiles and drones at plants belonging to two of the world’s largest aluminium producers in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, targeting what they described as industries linked to the US military.
At least 4 people were wounded in Israel’s Beersheba following an Iranian missile attack on a chemical plant. Authorities there have warned residents nearby to remain indoors because of fears over a hazardous leak.
Nine others are being treated for anxiety, said Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency service.
Meanwhile, at least ten military personnel have been injured in an Iranian attack on an army camp in Kuwait. Over the past 24 hours, 14 ballistic missiles and 12 drones were launched into Kuwaiti airspace, the Kuwaiti defence ministry said.