US planning ground attack despite diplomacy claims

Tehran
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday accused the United States of plotting a ground attack on Iran while publicly claiming to pursue diplomacy, as thousands of American Marines arrived in the Middle East amid escalating regional tensions.
“The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack,” Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
His remarks came as Washington deployed additional military forces to the region, fuelling speculation that the conflict could expand further despite ongoing diplomatic messaging.
The US has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East, with the first of two contingents arriving aboard an amphibious assault ship, the US military said on Saturday. The deployment follows weeks of intensifying fighting linked to the widening Iran war.
A report by The Washington Post said US officials indicated the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of potential ground operations in Iran, possibly involving raids by Special Operations forces and conventional infantry troops. The newspaper added that it remained uncertain whether President Donald Trump would approve plans to deploy ground troops.
Reuters has also reported that the Pentagon was considering military options that could include sending ground forces into Iran.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced earlier that a fifth soldier had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, underscoring the growing regional scope of the conflict.
In Tehran, Qatari news channel Al Araby TV said an Israeli missile struck the building housing its office, causing extensive damage and forcing the suspension of live broadcasts.
“An Israeli missile targets the Al Araby TV channel building in the capital, Tehran… extensive damage and the suspension of live broadcasting,” the channel said in a post on X. Footage from inside the office showed shattered glass, broken windows and debris scattered across the newsroom. Images from outside showed damaged surrounding buildings and streets covered with rubble.
The risk of a broader regional war increased further after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched its first attacks on Israel since the conflict began, officials said.
The war, launched on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, has since spread across multiple fronts in the Middle East. The fighting has killed thousands and triggered the largest disruption to global energy supplies ever recorded, shaking world markets and raising fears of prolonged instability.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday the US could achieve its aims without ground troops, but that it was deploying some to the region so Trump would have “maximum” flexibility to adjust strategy.
The Pentagon was also expected to deploy thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.