The speaker of Iran's parliament accused the United States on Sunday of plotting a ground attack despite publicly pushing for a negotiated deal, after a US warship with around 3,500 military personnel arrived in the Middle East.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's comments came after more than a month of aerial bombardments of Iran by US and Israeli forces, and as key regional players held talks in Pakistan.
The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states and the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, 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.
'An uncertain future'
Ghalibaf called for unity among Iranians, saying the war was "at its most critical stage".
Weeks of unrelenting strikes have taken a heavy toll on ordinary people in the country.
"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."
A university in Iran's central city of Isfahan said it was hit by US-Israeli airstrikes on Sunday for the second time since the war erupted.
In Tehran, the Qatari news channel Al Araby said an Israeli missile hit the building housing its office.
Footage from inside the office showed broken windows and shattered glass.
Outside, people could be seen clearing large piles of rubble.
Talks in Pakistan
US President Donald 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 would include discussions on "a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", Pakistan's foreign ministry has said.
Despite making diplomatic overtures including proposing a 15-point plan to end the war, the US has also been sending more military assets into the region.
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 closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane which previously accounted for a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade and a fifth of liquefied natural gas shipments, to vessels from hostile nations.
Fire at desert complex
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.
In Israel, thick black smoke could be seen rising from an industrial complex in the Negev desert in images released by the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority.
The military said the impact may have been caused by missile shrapnel, shortly after it detected a new barrage fired from Iran.
As the spectre of a widening conflict loomed, 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.
Cardinal blocked
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 condemned the killings as war crimes, while Israel alleged that one of the 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.
At a Palm Sunday mass in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV warned that God "does not listen to the prayer of those who wage war".
He also paid tribute to Christians in the Middle East preparing for Easter saying that many "cannot fully live the rites of these holy days" because of the conflict.
The Pope spoke after Israeli police blocked the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from celebrating mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's holiest site.
Since the start of the war, Israel has banned large gatherings -- including in synagogues, churches and mosques -- and capped public events at 50 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa had been stopped "out of special concern for his safety".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
