The Japan Times - Iran accuses US of plotting ground attack despite diplomatic talk

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's comments come after more than a month of aerial bombardments by Iran by US and Israeli forces, and as key regional players met to hold talks in Pakistan.

The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening the world economy.

"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.

"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.

The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying around 3,500 Marines and sailors, arrived in the Middle East on Friday.

The Washington Post reported the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations -- potentially including raids on sites near the Strait of Hormuz -- though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment.

Iran says it has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane which previously accounted for a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade, to hostile shipping.

Trump has repeatedly spoken of diplomatic contacts with Iran, although these claims has 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.

- 'All of Tehran was shaking' -

In Tehran, two blasts shook the city early Sunday, an AFP journalist said, although it was not clear what was targeted.

The Qatari news channel Al Araby said an Israeli missile hit the building housing its office in the city.

Footage from inside the office showed broken windows and shattered glass. Outside, images showed the streets covered in debris and damage to surrounding buildings.

The channel said in a statement to AFP that it "condemns this attack on a civilian commercial building and affirms that endangering journalists or considering them targets runs counter to international law".

"I miss a peaceful night's sleep," an artist in Tehran told AFP, saying night-time strikes were "so intense it felt like all of Tehran was shaking".

Farzaneh, a 62-year-old woman in Iran's western city of Ahvaz contacted by AFP from Paris, said: "People wake up each day worried about an uncertain future."

Ghalibaf on Sunday 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," he said.

- Strikes on industry in Gulf -

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.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said an Iranian attack wounded six and caused significant damage to its plant, while Bahraini state media said two Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) employees were injured in a second attack.

As the spectre of a widening conflict grew, Yemen's Houthis on Saturday claimed their first attack of the war, firing what they described as "a barrage of cruise missiles and drones" at strategic sites in Israel.

The attacks raised concern about the war spreading to the Red Sea, with Saudi Arabia rerouting much of its oil exports there to avoid Hormuz.

During Israel's recent war in Gaza, the Houthis, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians, attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, forcing companies to take costly detours.

- Three journalists killed -

On another front, Israeli attacks have continued in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2.

On Saturday, the Israeli military killed three journalists in the south.

Lebanese authorities, including President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, condemned the killings as war crimes, while Israel alleged that one of the slain reporters was also a member of an elite Hezbollah combat unit.

Hundreds of people gathered in the rain for the funeral of the three journalists near Beirut on Sunday.

An Israeli strike on an ambulance belonging to the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee killed one paramedic and his patient Sunday, the group's spokesperson said.

The incident came a day after at least nine first aid workers were killed by Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.

On Sunday the Israeli army announced the death in combat of a soldier in south Lebanon.

At a vocational institute north of Beirut, displaced mother Nasima Ismail signed up her children for services despite few resources as the war interrupts education for hundreds of thousands of students.

"I want them to complete their education, even if we are left with nothing," she said.

"I wish them days better than ours."

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K.Okada--JT