Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf issued a stern warning against American forces, declaring that Iranian troops are prepared to retaliate. His remarks coincided with the arrival of 2,500 US Marines in the region and the entry of Iran-backed Houthi rebels into the ongoing conflict.
Published Date – 29 March 2026, 06:32 PM
Dubai: Iranian forces “are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” the country’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Sunday.
“Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased,” Qalibaf added.
The comments came as regional powers plan to meet in Pakistan to discuss how to end the fighting in the Middle East as about 2,500 US Marines arrived in the region and Iran-backed Houthi rebels entered the month-long war.
Iran ‘main threat’ to Gulf countries
An adviser to the United Arab Emirates has called for any settlement to the war in the Middle East to include “clear guarantees” that Iranian attacks on its neighbours won’t be repeated.
In a social media post, Anwar Gargash said the Iran government has become “the main threat” to the Persian Gulf security.
He called for compensation for attacking civilian and vital infrastructure
Meanwhile, the UAE said its air defence systems are responding to more missile and drone attacks. The defence ministry said sounds heard across the country on Sunday were from interception efforts.
The UAE faced attacks from 16 missiles and 42 drones in the past 24 hours, according to the ministry.
Iran warns US against ground invasion
Iran’s parliament speaker on Sunday warned the US against a ground invasion, threatening to set the American troops “on fire” and step up attacks on US allies, according to Iranian official media.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iranian forces “are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever.”
He added: “Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased.”
He described the US’s 15-point plan which Pakistan passed to Iran last week as “their wishes” and said the Trump administration is attempting to do through the plan what it has failed to achieve by force.
“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is clear: Far be it from us to accept humiliation,” he said.
Israel’s military warns more targets ahead
Israel and the US are “working in very close coordination” to respond after Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they had launched missiles toward Israeli targets, Israeli military spokesperson Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters on Sunday.
He declined to provide details on operations against the Iran-backed group, which controls parts of Yemen, but said Israel had grown accustomed to confronting repeated attacks from the Houthis, who have for more than two years launched missiles and drones toward Israel and shipping targets in the Red Sea.
He also said Israeli military statements about nearing completion of top-priority strikes did not mean it was running out of overall targets.
“There are many more groups of targets and there are also many more targets when it comes to (ballistic missile) production,” he said.
Tehran threatens strikes on US varsities in Middle East
The Revolutionary Guard’s warning on Sunday said it would consider Israeli universities and branches of American universities in the region “legitimate targets”, unless the US condemns bombings at Iranian universities, state media reported.
“If the US government wants its universities in 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 in a statement, urging the evacuations of American and Israeli educational facilities and telling students and staff to stay at least 1 km away.
The Guard also demanded the US stop Israel from striking Iranian universities and research centres, which have been attacked in recent days. Israel’s military has acknowledged striking Iranian universities it says are connected to weapons development.
This is the first time Iran has threatened to strike Israeli and American universities.
