Iran: progress on the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the war in Lebanon. Trump, disappointed by Meloni and all NATO leaders

Giambattista Vico would speak of ‘historical cycles and recurrences’ to indicate that history unfolds in a cyclical manner. There is a thread linking Italia and the US, which over the years has been more or less visible, and which has often passed through an air base situated some 15 kilometres west of the city of Catania, more precisely between the municipality of Lentini (in the province of Syracuse, within the district of the same name, ‘Sigonella’) and the municipalities of the metropolitan city of Catania, including Catania itself, Belpasso and Motta Sant’Anastasia.

 Sigonella is a name well known to history books.

The former head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, and his wife were asked to leave the United Arab Emirates following an alert about a possible Iranian attack. This was reported by anonymous sources to Israel’s Channel 13, according to whom Bar and his wife were due to attend an international security conference hosted by the UAE’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A source close to the Gulf state denied to the television network that the conference was scheduled to take place.

Meeting at a luxury hotel on the Burgenstock in the Swiss Alps, the Iranian and US delegations have made “encouraging progress”. This was stated by the governments of Pakistan and Qatar in a joint statement. The two sides have “agreed on a roadmap aimed at reaching a final agreement within 60 days, thereby laying the foundations for the immediate launch of new technical talks” which will continue for the rest of the week

Ever since it opened in 1873, it has been a haven for celebrities and members of the jet set, as well as for many politicians. It is the Bürgenstock, a five-star resort perched on the mountain of the same name overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland.

“I am not only disappointed with Italia for failing to provide what we needed, but with all NATO leaders, whose countries are defended by the United States.” So said US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Maria Luisa Rossi Hawkins on Tgcom24. Tgcom24 itself reports this on its website. “Withdraw from NATO? I don’t know, but I don’t intend to discuss it at the moment,” Trump added.

According to maritime traffic data, the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply yesterday after Iran announced the permanent closure of the strait, citing breaches of the interim peace agreement by Israel and the United States. According to data from the analytics firm Kpler, five vessels passed through the strait yesterday, compared with 26 on the previous Saturday. These included three large oil tankers, each carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil and fuel oil, one of which was bound for Japan.

A communication channel to prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and a ‘conflict management unit’ aimed at bringing an end to the fighting in Lebanon. The first round of high-level talks between Iran and the United States in Switzerland has concluded with “encouraging progress”, and technical-level negotiations will continue for the rest of the week. Despite Donald Trump’s threats to destroy Iran – which seemed likely to jeopardise the talks – the mediators, Pakistan and Qatar, speak of positive results. And Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appears to agree: “significant progress has been made towards ending the war in Lebanon. “Iran has been granted exemptions from restrictions on exports of oil and petrochemicals,” he said on X, also listing among the results achieved the lifting of the blockade, the unfreezing of certain assets and the launch of a “major reconstruction and development plan”. In a joint statement issued at the end of the talks, Pakistan and Qatar reported that the Iranian and American delegations had negotiated in a “positive and constructive atmosphere”, even going so far as to outline a “roadmap” to reach a final agreement within the agreed 60-day timeframe. Washington and Tehran have agreed to establish a high-level committee which will provide political oversight of the negotiations. The chief negotiators will report regularly to the high-level committee and lead working groups on the issues of “nuclear matters, sanctions, monitoring and dispute resolution”. During the negotiations, Iran and the United States “established a communication channel aimed at preventing incidents and misunderstandings and ensuring the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, said the mediators, emphasising that an agreement had also been reached to set up a coordination unit for the prevention of incidents, with a view to ensuring an end to military operations in Lebanon. The unit comprises representatives from Tehran, Washington and Lebanon, and will also involve the mediators.

The United States, Iran and the mediators held talks in Switzerland on the Strait of Hormuz, and “good progress was made on this front”. This was reported by Axios, citing an American diplomat, who said that today’s talks also focused on all aspects of the nuclear deal.

“The tireless mediation efforts by Pakistan and Qatar have led to significant progress towards ending the war in Lebanon.” This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi at the conclusion of the first round of talks with the United States. “Iran has been granted exemptions from restrictions on exports of oil and petrochemicals, the blockade has been lifted, some frozen assets have been unfrozen, and a major reconstruction and development plan has been launched,” he highlighted.

Iran and the United States have agreed to establish a communication channel to prevent incidents and safeguard transit through the Strait of Hormuz. This was reported by the mediators, Pakistan and Qatar, in a joint statement.