The Hindu is reporting that Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated on Sunday that Iranian forces are prepared to retaliate against American troops and punish regional partners. His remarks came as Pakistan announced it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed happiness that both nations have shown confidence in Pakistan's facilitation of these upcoming discussions, though neither the U.S. nor Iran has confirmed this. The Hindu noted that the war has entered its second month, with reports of the U.S. dispatching more troops and planning a ground invasion, while Israel seeks to expand its territory in southern Lebanon. Pakistan's mediation efforts have not yet brought the main parties to the negotiating table, despite hosting regional diplomats on Sunday. The Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt met in Islamabad to broker an end to the conflict, aiming for direct dialogue between the U.S. and Iran. However, the Iranian Speaker dismissed these talks as a cover for U.S. troop deployments. Israel and the U.S. continued strikes on Iran, which responded with missiles and drones. Kuwait's Electricity Ministry reported an Iranian strike on a power station killed an Indian worker. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that Israeli and U.S. universities in the region would be considered legitimate targets unless Iranian universities received safety assurances, following Israeli strikes on several Iranian universities. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held discussions on regional hostilities, and Iran eased restrictions on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
