We're watching US troop movements in the region, warns Iran

Tehran on Wednesday, 25 March reacted with disbelief and disdain to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping claims about negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace. Iran’s foreign ministry denied any negotiation with the US, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called the reports “fake news intended to manipulate financial and oil markets”.

“We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments. What the generals have broken, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to Netanyahu's delusions. Do not test our resolve to defend our land,” he posted on social media.

Ghalibaf had earlier mocked the US president by pointing out, “He has claimed he ‘defeated’ us nine times in the last two weeks. Hilarious!” In yet another post, he had clarified, “No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is being used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”

“Look at the facts. Iran is under constant bombardment and missiles by the US and Israel. So, their claim of diplomacy and mediation is not credible. Because they have started this war and they are continuing to attack Iran. So can anyone possibly believe that their claim [of] mediation is credible?” Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

In an interview to the India Today TV channel, Baghaei said, “I understand that the world economy is impacted by what is going on in our region, but this is not our fault. You are concerned about the price of oil, the price of groceries, but we are concerned about the life of our citizens.”

Attacks on Iran by US and Israeli forces have left more than 82,000 civilian structures damaged or destroyed, the Iranian Red Crescent Society has claimed. The damaged structures include 62,000 homes, and 281 medical centres, hospitals and pharmacies. Additionally, 498 schools have been damaged, as well as 17 rescue points and 12 rescue vehicles.

The US and Israel are said to have carried out 15,000 sorties to bomb targets in Iran since they began the attack on 28 February. Independent reports have confirmed that the targets bombed have included power plants, water desalination plants and even garbage collection vehicles.

Various sources corroborated on Wednesday that Iran is deeply distrustful of the US president and has consistently refused to negotiate with the US after being betrayed twice in the last nine months.

The Iranian military’s assessment, these sources claimed, is that Trump’s claims of ongoing negotiations are designed to calm the market, divert global attention from his retreat from the earlier 48‑hour deadline to Iran and to utilise the breathing time to re-deploy forces and put up air defences in countries across the region.

Iran has let countries know that it is suspicious of US troop movements and is convinced that preparations are on for a US ground invasion. The breathing gap until Friday, Iranian sources have said, will be used by the US to obtain intelligence on the locations and movement of senior officials in Iran so as to assassinate them.

Finally, Iran is convinced that the US president will blame Iran for rejecting his overtures for peace and renew fiercer attacks on the country after the five-day ultimatum for talks held out by Trump expires on 27 March. The deadline will coincide with the closure of the US capital market for the weekend.

Amidst reports that the Iranian Navy has claimed formally to have taken over control of the Persian Gulf, Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters — the command that jointly oversees Iran’s regular military and the elite Revolutionary Guard — aired a recorded statement on state television, saying there were no talks at all. “Are your internal conflicts now reduced to negotiating with yourselves?” Zolfaghari taunted.

“The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a strategic failure,” he said in yet another recorded statement aired on Wednesday. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.”