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TRANSCRIPT:
A US warship with around 3,500 military personnel arrived in the Middle East over the weekend, adding to speculation that a ground operation may be imminent.
Iran’s joint command spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, says Iranian forces are ready and prepared.
"The US President has proven that the only language he understands is the language of force. In response to Trump’s recent threats of a ground operation or the occupation of any part of Iran’s territory, which is nothing more than a wish, we declare: the fighters of Islam have long been awaiting such actions in order to demonstrate that aggression and occupation will yield no result other than the humiliating capture, dismemberment, and disappearance of the aggressors."
Earlier, Iran issued threats against Israeli and US universities in the region, giving a time limit to the US to condemn the bombing of Iranian universities it wants to be spared from retaliatory measures.
This includes an attack on Iran's University of Science and Technology and for the second time, since the war erupted, on Isfahan University of Technology.
US universities that have campuses in the Gulf include Texas A&M and Northwestern universities in Qatar, and New York University in the United Arab Emirates.
Iran's state [[IRINN]] news anchor read out the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps statement on local television.
"A warning to the criminal rulers of the United States. US-Israeli forces carried out another bombing of Iranian universities by striking Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran. The reckless rulers of the White House should know that from now on all universities of the occupying regime and US universities in the West Asia region will be considered legitimate targets until two universities are struck in retaliation for the destruction of Iranian universities."
Meanwhile, Pakistan says it is ready to host talks between the US and Iran to bring an early and permanent end to their war.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hosted his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey for several hours in the Pakistani capital.
Mr Dar says the visitors expressed their full support for potential US-Iran talks in Islamabad.
“We also discussed the possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region. The Foreign Ministers expressed concerns that the ongoing conflict is extremely unfortunate for its devastating impact on lives and livelihoods across the wider region. We agreed that this war is not in favour of anyone and would only lead to death and destruction. The unity of Muslim Ummah in these challenging times is of utmost importance.”
Last week, the US said it had offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, with a proposal to reopen the waterway and restrict Iran's nuclear program.
But Iran has rejected the list and put forward proposals of its own.
It's also accusing the United States of plotting a ground attack, despite publicly pushing for a negotiated deal.
Donald Trump maintains indirect talks between the US and Iran via Pakistan are progressing well, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.
He has avoided confirming plans for a ground invasion.
Reporter: “What is the circumstances where you'd send in ground troops. How are you thinking about that?”
Donald Trump: “I don't even want to talk about it now. I mean, I don't think it's an appropriate question. You know, I'm not going to answer it. Could there be? Possibly for very good reason. Have to, have to be a very good reason. And I would say if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level."
In Iran, millions of people are isolated from news since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, following a blackout - which has now extended to 30 days.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks says the nationwide censorship measure continues into its fifth week, after 696 hours.
Although domestic intranet - which includes local messaging apps and banking platforms - remains operational, access to global internet has been severely restricted.
The country's Deputy Energy Minister Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi says power was cut in Tehran and Alborz provinces after attacks on electricity facilities.
“In Tehran as well, in parts of eastern Tehran—Doushan Tappeh, Resalat, and Nezamabad—we also lost one transmission station due to the same attacks that occurred tonight. Our colleagues have been dispatched, and people are concerned. God willing, I think in the east of Tehran area, we will be able to restore the network sooner than in Alborz Province, and in less than twenty minutes, God willing, I estimate that the Tehran power grid will gradually return and customers will be relieved of the power outage.”
Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered an expansion in southern Lebanon, as the fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants intensifies.
He says he has instructed the military to widen the so-called buffer zone.
“We are bringing great achievements, achievements that create visible cracks in the terrorist regime in Tehran. Iran is not the same Iran, Hezbollah is not the same Hezbollah, and Hamas is not the same Hamas.”
More than a million people from southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs have been displaced since the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.
They have been sheltering in public schools or in tents pitched on the side of the road.
Those displaced have criticised Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement of an expanded occupation in southern Lebanon.
Mohammad Doghman is among those forced to flee, and says they are enduring a war with no end in sight.
"This is just the beginning, but when it will end, no one knows. Even if the war ends, the situation for us won’t end, because the suffering after the war will last longer. It could take one, two, or even three years, then comes reconstruction and people returning to their homes to regain stability. This is a bigger problem than the war itself, which we are already enduring."
