A top Iranian official warned the U.S. against a ground invasion, saying American troops could be set “on fire,” as regional diplomats gathered in Pakistan on Sunday in a push to broker an end to the monthlong war.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, dismissed weekend talks as a canopy while the U.S. dispatches additional troops to the Middle East. He said Iran was prepared to confront any American forces on its soil and would respond harshly against each U.S. troops and Washington’s regional allies, in keeping with Iranian state media.
The remarks got here as Pakistan said the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt were holding talks in Islamabad without U.S. or Israeli participation. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier said he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had held “extensive discussions” on the regional hostilities.
Yet there have been few signs of progress as Israel and the U.S. kept up strikes on Iran, and Tehran responded by firing missiles and drones across the region.
Greater than 3,000 people have been killed throughout the monthlong war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering Iran’s attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states.
Israel announced waves of incoming strikes from Iran on Sunday and explosions may very well be heard throughout Tehran.
Mideast leaders try to interrupt impasse at weekend talks
Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty, Turkey’s Hakan Fidan and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal Bin Farhan were in Islamabad as a part of talks scheduled days after the U.S. offered Iran a 15-point “motion list” as a framework for a possible peace deal. Abdelatty said the meetings were geared toward opening a “direct dialogue” between the U.S. and Iran, which have largely communicated through mediators throughout the war.
Yet throughout the talks, Iran has eased some restrictions on business ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It agreed late Saturday to permit 20 more Pakistani-flagged vessels to transit the critical passageway, Pakistani officials said, adding to the select few it has let through as Iran works to choke but not cut off the strait entirely.
The weekend provided little sign of the talks narrowing the disconnect between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. officials have insisted the war could also be nearing an inflection point but Iranian leaders proceed to publicly reject negotiations.
On the contrary, the USA has dispatched 1000’s of additional Marines and paratroopers to the region. And the Iran-backed Houthis, who govern parts of Yemen, announced their long-awaited entry into the war, launching missiles toward what they called “sensitive Israeli military sites” for the primary time on Saturday.
Despite the deployments, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington “can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops” as domestic opposition grows to expanding the war to a possible ground invasion, including amongst Republicans.
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Yet Iranian officials have rejected the U.S. framework and in public dismissed the concept of negotiating under pressure. Still, Press TV, the English-language arm of Iran’s state broadcaster, reported last week that Tehran drafted its own five-point proposal, citing an anonymous official. The plan reportedly called for a halt to killing Iranian officials, guarantees against future attacks, reparations and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”
Tehran threatens retaliatory strikes on Israeli and U.S. universities
Iran on Sunday warned of additional escalation after Israeli airstrikes hit several universities, including ones that Israel claimed were used for nuclear research and development.
The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned in a press release that Iran would consider Israeli universities and branches of American universities within the region “legitimate targets” unless offered safety assurances for Iranian universities, state media reported.
American colleges including Georgetown, Latest York University and Northwestern have campuses in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“If the U.S. government wants its universities within the region spared, it should condemn the bombardment of (Iranian) universities by 12 o’clock Monday, March 30, in an official statement,” the Guard said.
It also demanded the U.S. stop Israel from striking Iranian universities and research centers. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Saturday that dozens of universities and research centers have been hit, amongst them the Iran University of Science and Technology and Isfahan University of Technology.
Houthi involvement sparks concerns
Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television station on Saturday that they launched missiles toward “sensitive Israeli military sites” within the south.
The group — which controls parts of Yemen — launched repeated attacks geared toward Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the height of the Israel-Hamas war. Israeli strikes on Yemen last yr killed the rebel-run government’s prime minister and top military general.
If the Houthis again increased attacks on business shipping, it might further push up oil prices and destabilize “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst on the International Crisis Group. “The impact wouldn’t be limited to the energy market.”
Bab el-Mandeb, on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is crucial for vessels heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has been routing tens of millions of barrels of crude oil a day through it since the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed.
Houthi rebels attacked greater than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels, between November 2023 and January 2025. They’ve held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014. Saudi Arabia launched a war against the Houthis on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government in 2015. They now have an uneasy ceasefire.
Death toll climbs
Iranian authorities say greater than 1,900 people have been killed within the Islamic Republic, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.
In Lebanon, where Israel has began an invasion within the south while targeting the Hezbollah militant group, officials said greater than 1,100 people have been killed within the country because the start of the war.
In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the safety forces have died.
In Gulf states, 20 people have been killed. 4 have been killed within the occupied West Bank.
—Metz reported from Ramallah and Magdy from Cairo.