Iran says it is ‘waiting’ for ground invasion, as US moves in more troops

CNN-March29th2026

Here’s the latest

• US troops: Iran’s parliament speaker accused the US of “secretly planning a ground invasion” while talking of negotiations. The USS Tripoli — carrying 3,500 US service members — has arrived in the Middle East.

• Israeli targets: Meanwhile, the Israeli military says it is days away from hitting all the targets in Iran it classes as “top priority.” The joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 1,900 people, according to the Red Crescent.

• Airstrikes: Explosions were heard in Tehran amid heavy bombardment, according to state-affiliated media. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to hit US and Israeli university campuses in retaliation for strikes on Iranian educational institutions.

• Church leaders barred: Elsewhere, the Latin Patriarchate said Israeli police stopped church leaders celebrating mass on Palm Sunday, as Israeli authorities restrict access to religious sites in East Jerusalem. It came as Pope Leo rejected attempts to co-opt God as justification for war.

Iran’s supreme leader delivers message to Iraqi Shiite party leader

By Sophie Tanno

A personal message from Iran’s supreme leader was delivered to the head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), a major Iraqi Shiite political party established in Iran in 1982, according to Iran’s Jamaran news agency.

The message was handed to the party’s head, Sheikh Hammam Hamoudi, by the Iranian ambassador to Iraq during a meeting.

The contents of the supreme leader’s message are unclear, but Jamaran reported that the ambassador praised Iraq’s Shiite religious authority for its stance on the US-Israeli war as well as Hamoudi’s “sincere positions.”

Khamenei has remained elusive and has not appeared in public since his father and former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was assassinated last month in joint US-Israeli strikes. Only written statements have been issued in his name.

Earlier this month, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that he had suffered a fractured foot and other minor injuries on the first day of the US and Israel’s bombardment campaign. In addition to his injured foot, Khamenei, 56, received a bruise around his left eye, as well as minor lacerations to his face, the source said.