Latest news on the war in the Middle East. Oil tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump to discuss Iran with Xi and Putin

Since the start of the conflict in the Persian Gulf on 28 February, inflation in Italia has risen by 4.4 per cent, with peaks of +5.4 per cent in Como, +5.1 per cent in Siena and Lucca, and +4.6 per cent in Florence, Trieste, Verona, Vicenza and Syracuse. The categories most affected by price rises were electricity and gas, up 28.7 per cent; private transport, up 13.8 per cent; passenger transport services, up 9 per cent; mobile phones and computers, up 8.3 per cent; and accommodation services, up 6.1 per cent. This is according to the CGIA Research Department, based on an analysis of Istat data. The only categories to have recorded a fall in prices over the last eight months were vehicle purchases (-0.1 per cent), alcoholic drinks (-1.3 per cent), household appliances (-2.2 per cent) and package holidays (-8.1 per cent). Among the top 50 sub-categories with the highest price rises, the largest increases were seen in recording media (cassettes, video cassettes, DVDs, CDs) at +64.8 per cent; heating oil and kerosene for domestic use at +44.3 per cent; heating gas at +39.2 per cent, diesel at +32.2 per cent, electricity at +23.9 per cent, passenger air transport at +23.5 per cent and petrol at +22.7 per cent. At regional level, the sharpest rises were seen in Tuscany, up 4.2 per cent; followed by Sardinia and Veneto (both up 4 per cent). These three regions, for which tourism is one of the mainstays of their economies, saw prices for accommodation rise by 36.1 per cent, 17.6 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Next came Lazio and Sicily at +3.9 per cent, and Liguria and Friuli-Venezia Giulia at 3.8 per cent. The region least affected by inflationary pressures was Trentino-Alto Adige, at +1.8 per cent.

Among the 80 provincial capitals, the sharpest rise in inflation was recorded in Como, at +5.4 per cent. These were followed by Siena and Lucca (+5.1 per cent), Florence, Trieste, Verona, Vicenza and Syracuse (+4.6 per cent), Venice (+4.5 per cent) and Pisa (+4.4 per cent). The municipalities least affected were Trento (+1.1 per cent), Belluno (+0.9 per cent) and Milan (+0.8 per cent). According to the CGIA, it is reasonable to assume that price rises in these last three cities are more moderate because, in February, the consumer price index in these cities was among the highest in the country. If the trend of the last three months were to continue, the Research Department notes, food prices too are likely to face very significant increases. And it would be low-income households that would pay the highest price, as essential expenses such as food, heating and lighting weigh more heavily on their household budgets and cannot be reduced by much. Many small, energy-intensive businesses could also face a rise in fixed costs that would be difficult to absorb by simply raising their prices, particularly energy-intensive sectors operating in the chemical, paper, glass, ceramics, cement/brick and steel industries, and those that are electricity-intensive, such as aluminium, plastics, rubber, textiles, food and the digital industry.

“If Washington is genuinely committed to a diplomatic solution, it must immediately and unconditionally put an end to its aggression against Iran, lift the naval blockade and other illegal unilateral measures, and provide credible guarantees against a resumption of attacks”. This was stated by Iran’s representative to the United Nations, Gholamhossein Darzi, who warned that Tehran would respond “immediately and decisively” to any new attack by the United States or Israel. “Some members of the UN Security Council, particularly the Western ones, in coordination with the aggressor, are attempting to ignore the root causes of regional tensions and to reverse the roles of victim and aggressor,” added Darzi, as quoted by the Iranian news agency IRNA.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission based its reports on Iran on resolutions of the Board of Governors, which were technically and legally flawed, adopted through an abuse of procedures and containing conclusions that exceeded the body’s powers.” This was stated by the Iranian mission to the United Nations Office in Vienna in a message published on X. “As the Director General of the IAEA himself, Rafael Grossi, the attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities subject to safeguards have created unprecedented circumstances and disrupted inspections”, the mission added, emphasising that “the routine implementation of safeguards cannot and will not resume under abnormal conditions”.

The Revolutionary Guards, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have stated that two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims control of this strategic sea route, through which a fifth of the world’s hydrocarbons used to pass before the war. Tehran targets ships attempting to cross the strait without its authorisation. In response, the United States is imposing a blockade on Iranian ports and escorting oil tankers along the coast of Oman. “Two oil tankers, which had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz on an unauthorised route, exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine,” the Revolutionary Guards stated in a communiqué published on Telegram.