arrived in the Middle East. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's comments come after more than a month of aerial bombardment of Iran by US and Israeli forces and ahead of talks between key regional players on Monday. The war has escalated into a regional conflagration as Iran has retaliated with attacks on Gulf states, 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. 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 Kharg Island and sites near the Strait of Hormuz -- though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment. Iran says it has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane which accounted for a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade, to hostile shipping. Trump has repeatedly spoken of diplomatic contacts with Iran, although these  claims has been denied by Tehran. (Bssnews)