NEW YORK (VINnews) — The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, claimed in a message to the Iranian people that the United States is outwardly presenting a willingness for negotiations and dialogue, but in reality is secretly advancing a plan for a ground attack against Iran.

According to him, the American messages about negotiations do not reflect a genuine attempt at reaching a settlement, but rather serve as a political cover for a broader forceful move. Ghalibaf argued that Washington is trying to achieve through diplomacy what it failed to achieve through war.

“The enemy is sending us messages of negotiation and dialogue, but is secretly planning a ground attack,” Ghalibaf said. He added that Iran’s armed forces are waiting for the Americans’ ground entry in order to “set them on fire” and punish the United States’ regional allies as well.

He further claimed that the U.S. is “declaring what it did not achieve in war through a list of 15 points, and is now trying to achieve it through diplomacy.”

Ghalibaf’s harsh statements join a series of threatening messages from Tehran in recent days, amid reports of increased U.S. military presence in the region and Washington’s ongoing effort to combine heavy military pressure with an opening for a diplomatic resolution.