IN BRIEF

• Iran launched three missiles at southern Israel, according to the Israel Broadcasting Authority, which added that two missiles were intercepted while a third fell in an open area. 

• Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launched missile and drone strikes on aluminum plants in Bahrain and the UAE over the weekend, targeting what they described as industries linked to the US military.

• US media reported that the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran. The report came as the US military announced the arrival of 3,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Middle East. READ MORE BELOW

• Iranian Parliament's Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says Iranian forces are ready for the arrival of US troops. Ghalibaf rebuked Trump for expressing willingness to negotiate with Iran, while "secretly planning a ground attack."

• Pakistan, a potential mediator between Washington and Tehran, is hosting two days of talks with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt, seeking ways to ease regional tensions. READ MORE BELOW

• In the Iranian capital Tehran, two blasts shook the city, according to an AFP journalist, although it was not clear what was targeted.

• The Qatari news channel Al Araby said an Israeli missile hit the building housing its office in Tehran. Footage from inside the office showed broken windows and shattered glass. 

• The Israeli military said it had targeted Tehran's weapons manufacturing infrastructure, including dozens of storage and production sites the day before. 

• Five people were killed in a strike on a pier in the southern port city of Bandar-e-Khamir that also destroyed two vessels, Iranian state media reported.

• In Syria, authorities said they had repelled a drone attack from Iraq targeting a US military base, which comes after a series of strikes that have been claimed by pro-Tehran Iraqi groups.

• Israel also hit targets in Lebanon, killing three Lebanese journalists in a strike on a media vehicle, Lebanon's Al Manar TV reported, as well as a Lebanese soldier. A follow‑up strike on the rescue workers sent to assist them also caused fatalities.

• Air defenses shot down a drone near the residence of the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish ruling party, Masoud Barzani, in Erbil, security sources told reporters.

• The EU naval mission in the Red Sea says it is closely monitoring the situation after what it described as increased Houthi support for Iran. In a series of posts on X, the mission said it had issued updated guidance to the shipping industry, urging vessels to register and seek support through maritime security channels.

• Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv and some other Israeli cities to protest the Middle East war, in unauthorized demonstrations that security forces sought to disperse.

IN DETAIL

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the United States was plotting a ground attack despite publicly engaging in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.

"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." 

Ghalibaf called for unity among Iranians, saying the country was in "a major global war" that was "at its most critical stage."

"We are certain that we can punish the United States, make it regret attacking Iran, and firmly secure our legitimate rights," he said.

Washington has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East in the month-old war. The first of two contingents arrived on Friday on an amphibious assault ship, the US military said.

The Washington Post reported that US officials said the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, possibly involving raids by Special Operations and conventional infantry troops. Whether President Donald Trump would approve plans for deploying ground troops remained uncertain, the Post reported.

Reuters has reported the Pentagon was considering military operations that could include deploying ground troops in Iran.

Pakistan hosts talks to 'de-escalate tensions'

Pakistan, acting as a go-between for Washington and Tehran, is hosting foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt in Islamabad for talks on the crisis "on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region," the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked Islamabad "for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression," while Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon."

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said such a meeting could take place this week, and promoted a 15-point plan that Washington says "could solve it all."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had a "detailed" call with Iran's president on Saturday.

The talks will be led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who announced late Saturday that Iran had allowed "20 more ships" under the Pakistani flag – or two ships daily – to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward," Dar said on X, tagging US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Sharif said he had apprised Iran's president "of Pakistan's ongoing diplomatic outreach – engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries – to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation."