Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Iran's parliament, has accused the United States was plotting a ground attack, even when it was publicly engaging in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.
"The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack," Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
‘Most critical stage of war’ "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.
Ghalibaf further called for unity among Iranians, saying the country was in "a major global war" that was "at 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," Ghalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, police chief, and mayor of Tehran, said.
According to reports, he was widely seen as a potential partner in the US and Donald Trump’s preferred choice for Iran's new leader.
One month of Operation Epic Fury Ghalibaf's comments come as Operation Epic Fury, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, is into its second month. Despite the initial success, including the killing of the then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Tehran’s other top political and military leaders, the US has not been able to defeat Iran militarily.
While the US mainland is beyond the reach of Iranian missiles, American bases in the Middle East and Washington’s allies in the Gulf, along with Israel, have been on the receiving end of Tehran’s response.
Iranian attacks on critical oil and gas infrastructure and its de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have resulted in a global energy crisis, making the war, which is already unpopular at home, even more untenable for the Trump administration.
US President Donald Trump has also sent out mixed messages on the war with Iran so far, with claims ranging from ‘the US has already won the war’ to the ‘US is willing to negotiate a settlement with Iran’.
Will Iran be another Iraq/Afghanistan? Many military experts have warned that in deciding to attack Iran, the US has been dragged into another long-drawn conflict like the Invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Trump administration has insisted that, unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, Operation Epic Fury would be completed within weeks.
US preparing for ground invasion of Iran Ghalibaf's comments also come amid reports that the US is ramping up its military presence in the Middle East for what could be a weeks-long ground invasion of Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned that the United States and Israel may seek to widen the scope of the ongoing conflict by drawing in other countries or staging "false-flag operations."
Araghchi cautioned that Washington and Tel Aviv could attempt to expand "unprovoked aggression" against Iran "by compelling other countries to participate in the aggression or conduct false-flag operations against third countries."
According to Press TV, he also emphasised that countries have legal obligations under international law to prevent their territories or resources from being used to plan or support acts of "aggression".