Iranian forces “are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” the country’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said.

Qalibaf added: “Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased.”

The comments came as regional powers met in Pakistan to discuss how to end the fighting in the Middle East as about 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the monthlong war.

The war has threatened global supplies of oil and natural gas, sparked fertilizer shortages and disrupted air travel. Iran’s grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and prices.

The Houthis’ entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade typically passes.

Here is the latest:

Kuwait says 1 killed in Iranian attack on power, water plant

Kuwait said early Monday an Iranian attack on a power and desalination plant in the small, oil-rich nation killed an Indian worker there.

The statement carried by the state-run KUNA news agency did not identify the plant targeted.

Authorities said power and water supplies remained constant despite the attack.

Desalination plants remain crucial to water supplies in the Gulf Arab states. Iranian attacks already have damaged some facilities.

Trump suggests US could take Iran’s Kharg Island

U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the idea of American forces seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf.

The comment by Trump came in an interview published early Monday by The Financial Times.

“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the newspaper. “It would also mean we had to be there (on Kharg Island) for a while.”

Asked about Iranian defenses there, he said: “I don’t think they have any defense. We could take it very easily.”

The U.S. already launched airstrikes once it said targeted military positions on the island. Iran has threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and new attacks if U.S. troops land on its territory.

Trump says Iran’s parliament speaker authorized tankers to pass Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump says that Iran’s parliament speaker authorized the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The comment by Trump in an interview published early Monday by The Financial Times is the latest signal by the Americans of Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf’s importance within Iran’s theocracy.

“They gave us 10” Pakistani-flagged tankers, he said. “Now they’re giving 20 and the 20 have already started and they’re going right up the middle of the Strait.”

“He’s the one who authorized the ships to me,” Trump told the newspaper about Qalibaf. “Remember I said they’re giving me a present? And everyone said: ‘What’s the present?’ … When they heard about that they kept their mouth shut and the negotiations are going very well.”

Qalibaf has maintained a combative personality through his X account in the war, mocking the Americans and issuing threats. But the former Revolutionary Guard commander has seen his profile rise as senior members of its theocracy have been killed.

Trump says US is negotiating with Iran ‘directly and indirectly’

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had agreed to allow 20 ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning and continuing over the next few days “out of a sign of respect.”

“I would only say that we’re doing extremely well in that negotiation but you never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up,” Trump told reporters Sunday night board Air Force One as he flew to Washington.

Trump was asked if Iran had responded to the 15-point ceasefire plan the U.S. has proposed and he said, they did and added: “They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they?”

But Trump didn’t offer details when asked about Iran, by his telling, appearing to make major concessions.

“They’re agreeing with us on the plan,” Trump said.

He also said Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei “may be alive but he’s obviously, very seriously in trouble. He’s seriously wounded.”