Iran ready to 'welcome' US ground invasion as tit-for-tat attacks continue
Tehran has said it is ready to "welcome" an American ground invasion, as US Central Command (Centcom) reports its ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iran after the deaths of American soldiers in Jordan and Iraq over the weekend.
Iran's foreign mnistry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that the country's leadership is “counting down the minutes to welcome” US forces in any ground invasion.
He added that the text of the Pakistan-brokered interim deal signed with the US in June is "completely clear", and that there is "no excuse" for Washington to violate the treaty.
In the early hours of Monday morning, the US military claimed in a post on X that its attacks hit “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks”.
It added that the fresh onslaught aims to “further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.
: Iran ready to 'welcome' US ground invasion as tit-for-tat attacks continue
Smoke rises from an explosion at an unknown location, during what the US says are strikes on Iran, in this image dated 19 July (US Central Command/Reuters)
