{"id":205831,"date":"2026-03-30T04:27:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T04:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-says-its-waiting-for-a-possible-u-s-ground-assault-as-3500-troops-arrive-in-middle-east-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T04:27:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T04:27:32","slug":"iran-says-its-waiting-for-a-possible-u-s-ground-assault-as-3500-troops-arrive-in-middle-east-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-says-its-waiting-for-a-possible-u-s-ground-assault-as-3500-troops-arrive-in-middle-east-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran says it's 'waiting' for a possible U.S. ground assault as 3,500 troops arrive in Middle East – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
Iran said Sunday<\/a> it is ready to face U.S. troops on the ground, accusing Washington of secretly planning an assault while seeking negotiations to end the war<\/a>.
\u201cThe enemy, openly, sends messages of negotiation and dialogue, but secretly is planning a ground attack,\u201d said Iran\u2019s parliament speaker,<\/a> Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, according to state media outlet IRNA and state-affiliated Tasnim.
The U.S. is \u201cunaware that our men are waiting for American soldiers<\/a> to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze and punish their regional partners forever,\u201d he added.
His comments came hours after The Washington Post<\/a> reported that the Pentagon has drawn up plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran short of a full-scale invasion, even as President Donald Trump and key White House figures signal they want to soon draw the conflict to a close. NBC News has not confirmed the report.
Asked Sunday night aboard Air Force Once in West Palm Beach, Florida, whether he was considering putting boots on the ground, Trump said he still has \u201clots of alternatives” but did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has reinforced its military strength in the region. The USS Tripoli arrived in the Middle East on Saturday as part of a complement of 3,500 troops, U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Iran has not responded to a 15-point peace proposal intended to end the war sent by U.S. negotiators, but said that there was a \u201cwillingness to talk about certain things\u201d from the Iranian side.
However, Ghalibaf, a hard-liner who is one of Ir<\/a>an\u2019s few surviving major political figures<\/a>, accused the U.S. of \u201cpursuing through diplomacy what it failed to achieve in war,\u201d citing the 15-point list.
\u201cAs long as the Americans seek Iran\u2019s surrender, the response of your sons to these wishes is clear. We will never accept humiliation,\u201d he said, addressing everyday Iranians.
Trump on Sunday referenced the plan and said negotiations with Iran were ongoing.
\u201cThey came back on the 15-point plan. They gave us most of the points,” he said, adding that “we’re going to be asking for a couple of other things.”
The president also said Iran will allow 20 boats of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a “present” to the U.S. The vital shipping waterway, through which around 20% of the world’s oil normally passes on a daily basis, has been effectively shut down since the start of the war.
Trump said last week that he would extend the deadline for halting strikes on Iran\u2019s power plants after positive developments in negotiations with the Iranian regime.
He has said talks to end the war are going \u201cvery well,\u201d though Tehran insists it is not negotiating.
In a statement responding to questions about the possibility of troops being sent into Iran, <\/strong>White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: \u201cIt\u2019s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality. It does not mean the President has made a decision.\u201d
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on March 20 that he was \u201cnot putting troops anywhere.\u201d
\u201cIf I were, I certainly wouldn\u2019t tell you, but I\u2019m not putting troops,\u201d he added.
CENTCOM said Saturday that thousands of American soldiers had arrived in the Middle East, listing \u201ctransport and strike fighter air craft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets\u201d among the military assets in the region.
Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed during the war with Iran, and two more have died of noncombat causes.
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.\u00a0
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeIran said Sunday it is ready to face U.S. troops on the ground, accusing Washington of secretly planning an assault while seeking negotiations to end the war.\u201cThe enemy, openly, sends messages of negotiation and dialogue, but secretly is planning a ground attack,\u201d said Iran\u2019s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":205832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-205831","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}