According to Ghalibaf, Iran has intelligence that the United States is preparing to occupy an Iranian island with the support of an allied country in the region.
"Our forces are monitoring all hostile movements, and if they take any action, all vital infrastructure in this country in the region will be subjected to relentless, incessant attacks," the speaker wrote in a post on X.
He was probably referring to the island of Kharg, which is important for the oil industry.
An Iranian military source told the state-controlled Iranian news agency Tasnim that Iran is ready to attack shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait - the gateway to the Red Sea - in the event of a land invasion. "Iran has both the will and the capability," the source said, according to AFP.
This is taking place against the backdrop of reports, including from the AP news agency, that the US is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 paratroopers to the Middle East.
Space for Trump
The soldiers belong to one of the US Army's most well-trained conventional units and can be deployed anywhere in the world at very short notice.
According to sources quoted by The New York Times, the Pentagon has ordered around 2,000 soldiers from the regiment to the Middle East.
Previously, the US also said that around 5,000 additional Marines are on their way to the region, where the US already has around 50,000 troops.
The purpose is said to be to give President Donald Trump room to maneuver, according to The New York Times.
In parallel, more-or-less confirmed reports abound that the US and Iran have initiated some form of talks about an end to the war.
According to a source at Iranian Press TV, Iran has rejected a 15-point American negotiation proposal and instead presented a list of its own demands.
Attacks against several countries
But according to a recent statement from Iran, there is no question of negotiations.
"Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?" military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said in a pre-recorded speech on state Iranian media, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, Israel and Iran have continued to attack each other. Israeli attacks overnight on Wednesday targeted regime targets in the capital Tehran, among other places. Iran, through state media, confirmed rocket and drone attacks on Israel and several US military bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, according to AFP.
