Iran and the US are set to resume nuclear talks. The Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point

Iran announced today that it had summoned the Austrian chargé d’affaires after Vienna refused to allow the head of Iran’s nuclear agency to attend a meeting of the UN nuclear agency in Vienna. “The Austrian government’s refusal to issue visas to the delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei during a press conference. “It is clear to us that this incident occurred under pressure from the United States, but that does not absolve the Austrian government of its responsibilities.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry today denied any involvement by the country in the war in Yemen. “Iran does not interfere in Yemeni affairs,” ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters, adding that the Houthis are “entirely independent actors who make their own decisions based on their own interests”.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, stated today that Oman and Iran “have taken a joint decision aimed at achieving a responsible approach” to the management of the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting scheduled for today in Muscat with Gulf officials represented “an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of these decisions”, said Baqaei. The meeting was cancelled due to “the ongoing events in Yemen”, added the spokesperson from Tehran. “Had this meeting taken place, it would have been a very opportune occasion (to discuss the new policy, ed.). I do not believe that any responsible country would accept, in any way, being influenced or subjected to pressure by external forces”, the Iranian spokesperson continued.

Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has stated that he will initiate proceedings to revoke the citizenship of film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, after their documentary on the genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, ‘Naza’, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. In a post on X, Zohar described the documentary as “vile” and its victory at the film festival as “shocking”. He accused the filmmakers of harming the country “solely to win the applause of anti-Semites around the world” and claimed that their actions “constitute treason against the state”. “As Minister of Culture, I will take immediate action to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable filmmakers for treason against the state,” he wrote. According to the official synopsis from the Venice Film Festival, the 80-minute film documents Israel’s use of artificial intelligence-based systems to carry out “premeditated mass killings” against Palestinians in Gaza. The documentary received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere screening at the Festival.

The Israeli army has arrested four Palestinians in the Bethlehem Governorate, in the West Bank, including a father and his son. This was reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, which added that soldiers stormed the city of Bethlehem, the Dheisheh refugee camp and the Aida camp. Israeli forces also raided the town of Tubas and searched several homes.

The United States is reported to have exerted pressure to block the participation of the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO), Mohammad Eslami, in a meeting in Vienna at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for an annual conference on nuclear issues. This was reported this morning by Iranian state television. “Mohammad Eslami and his delegation boarded a scheduled flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were prevented from continuing their journey due to obstacles put in place by the United States,” the broadcaster announced, adding that the Iranian official subsequently returned to Tehran.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have announced that they have successfully intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-1 drone in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Iranians, the interception was carried out by “an advanced air defence system belonging to the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards”.

Una barca a motore passa accanto a una nave da carico generale ancorata nello Stretto di Hormuz al largo di Bandar Abbas, in Iran, domenica 6 settembre 2026. (Foto AP/Vahid Salemi) Associated Press / LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna

US President Donald Trump has praised the work of his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, whilst rumours are circulating that he is considering promoting CIA Director John Ratcliffe to take their place. When questioned by journalists on board Air Force One, Trump highlighted the work carried out by Witkoff and Kushner to secure the ceasefire in Gaza last year. “Take Gaza, for example. Look at the fact that we managed to bring all the hostages home,” Trump said, as quoted by the Times of Israel. “There isn’t much fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now willing to hand over its weapons,” he added.

Iran has made it clear to regional players that it is willing to discuss its nuclear programme only once the issue of the Strait of Hormuz has been resolved, including the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. This is reported by CNN, which states that, by contrast, the US intends to resume talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Officials from the Trump administration have indicated, in private conversations with their counterparts from the Gulf states, that Washington would like to “refocus any future US-Iran negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme, rather than on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”.

Iranian state media have reported that several explosions of unknown origin were heard in the Sirik area, in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan. The area is very close to the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian Gulf.