Iran Warns It Will Counter Any US Ground Assault

Iran said it is ready to respond to a U.S. ground attack, accusing Washington on Sunday of preparing a land assault even as the Trump administration sought talks and as regional powers met in Pakistan to try to end the conflict.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt met in Islamabad to discuss ways to ‌halt the Iran war, which has killed thousands of people and caused the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies.

The ministers exchanged views on the severe economic repercussions of the military escalation in the region, its impact on international navigation, supply chains and food security, as well as its implications for energy security in light of rising oil prices, Egypt’s foreign ministry said.

As the conflict entered its second month, Israel’s military said it carried overnight strikes on Tehran, targeting what it described as a facility producing critical components for ballistic missiles and a weapons production and storage site.

Iran launched multiple missile salvos at Israel on Sunday, sending millions of people across the country into shelters. Israel’s fire and rescue service said a blaze had broken out in an industrial area in the country’s south after an “impact.”

Chemical manufacturing and industrial plants, as well as a hazardous waste treatment facility, are located in the industrial area. It was not immediately clear if a missile had hit the area, or if the fire was caused by debris from an interception.

Iran’s ⁠parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf accused the U.S. of sending messages about possible negotiations while at the same time secretly planning to send in troops, adding that Tehran was ready to respond if U.S. soldiers were deployed.

“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation,” he said in a message to the nation.

The war, which began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread across the Middle East, with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launching on Saturday their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict.

The assault points to a potential new threat to global shipping, already hit by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, previously a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Washington has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East, with the first of two contingents arriving on Friday aboard an amphibious assault ship, the U.S. military has said.

The Washington Post quoted U.S. officials as saying the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, adding that it was not yet clear if President Donald Trump would approve such plans.

Reuters has reported that the Pentagon has considered military options that could include ground forces.

Trump faces a stark choice between seeking a negotiated exit or escalating militarily that risks a protracted crisis, and would likely weigh further on his already low approval ratings.

“President Trump has poor options all around to end the war,” said Jonathan Panikoff, former U.S. deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East.