Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Tuesday that it would launch a \u201cdecisive reciprocal response\u201d to any attack that violated the cease-fire, injecting more uncertainty into fragile diplomatic efforts a day after the U.S. military struck targets in southern Iran.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, also suggested that the country could renew strikes on U.S. military installations in the Persian Gulf, which Tehran had repeatedly targeted after the United States and Israel started bombing Iran in late February.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hands of time do not turn backward, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,\u201d Mr. Khamenei wrote in a statement released to commemorate the start of the hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.<\/p>\n
The Iranian warnings came after U.S. forces struck missile launch sites<\/a> in southern Iran and destroyed two Revolutionary Guard speedboats that U.S. officials said were trying to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is a critical transit route for crude oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n Two American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, said that in the 24 hours preceding the U.S. strikes, Iran had launched attack drones near some of the nearly two dozen U.S. Navy warships in or around the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The ships are enforcing a blockade on vessels trying to enter or leave Iranian ports.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command called the attacks on Monday \u201cself-defense strikes\u201d intended to \u201cprotect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.\u201d<\/p>\n The renewed hostilities \u2014 along with intensifying Israeli strikes against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon \u2014 have threatened to upend the push for a diplomatic agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ship traffic.<\/p>\n Iran has effectively blockaded the waterway, causing energy prices to soar, since the United States and Israeli attacks began on Feb. 28. President Trump and his administration, under pressure to address rising costs at home, have sent conflicting signals about the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that negotiations were continuing.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we\u2019ll see if we can make progress,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it\u2019ll take a few days. The president\u2019s expressed his desire to make it. He\u2019s either going to make a good deal or no deal.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Iran\u2019s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who had been in Qatar for the talks, returned to Iran, the Iranian state broadcaster reported. It was not clear if his departure signaled any meaningful shift in the negotiations.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran harder if it does not agree to his terms for a peace deal. On Monday, he said the result of the negotiations could be \u201cgreat and meaningful\u201d or \u201cno deal\u201d at all.<\/p>\n Much remains uncertain<\/a> about the negotiations, including whether Iran would be willing to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium or destroy it in front of neutral observers, as Mr. Trump has demanded.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Iran began restoring some internet access for tens of millions of Iranians who have been living under a government-imposed communications blackout for months.<\/p>\n \u201cIn line with the esteemed president\u2019s mission and in fulfillment of the government\u2019s promise, the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,\u201d Iran\u2019s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, wrote<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n Iran had cut off internet access in response to the February attacks, casting the blackout as a national security issue. Iranian activists have argued that it was intended to suppress dissent and increase government control.<\/p>\n The shutdown hurt Iran\u2019s already battered economy. Its tech sector suffered heavily, forcing companies to close and to lay off workers. Iranians who sold or advertised merchandise online also struggled.<\/p>\n NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, reported on Tuesday that its data showed a \u201cpartial restoration to internet connectivity\u201d in Iran after 88 days, making it \u201cthe longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranians said on social media and in messages to The New York Times that they were able to connect to the global internet after the long period of isolation.<\/p>\n The restoration came as Iran\u2019s foreign ministry accused the United States of violating the cease-fire agreement between the two sides and suggested in a statement that the latest U.S. strikes undermined the ongoing efforts to resolve the war diplomatically.<\/p>\n