THE NEW YORK TIMES: Iran threatens to renew strikes against US amid push for diplomatic deal
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to launch ‘decisive reciprocal response’ to any attack, a day after the US struck targets in southern Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday that it would launch a “decisive reciprocal response” to any attack that violated the ceasefire, injecting more uncertainty into fragile diplomatic efforts a day after the US military struck targets in southern Iran.
Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, also suggested that the country could renew strikes on US military installations in the Persian Gulf, which Iran had repeatedly targeted after the United States and Israel started bombing Iran in late February.
“The hands of time do not turn backward, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,” Khamenei wrote in a statement released to commemorate the start of the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
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Two US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, said that in the 24 hours preceding the US strikes, Iran had launched attack drones near some of the nearly two dozen US 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.
US Central Command called the attacks Monday “self-defence strikes” intended to “protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces”.
The renewed hostilities — along with intensifying Israeli strikes against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon — have threatened to upend the push for a diplomatic agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ship traffic.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday that negotiations were continuing.
“There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress,” he said.
“I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it’ll take a few days. The president’s expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal.”
Also 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.
Originally published on The New York Times
