Vance: The Strait of Hormuz is open; Iran’s agreement to the return of IAEA inspectors is a milestone

“The Iranians have agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency back into the country”, and this represents “a milestone” towards reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme. This was stated by the US Vice-President, Jd Vance. “This is an important step for the American people,” Vance continued, “and a first step towards the definitive end of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. We have laid excellent foundations for a successful final agreement,” the US Vice-President concluded.

On 21 June 2026, d’Amico Società di Navigazione announced in a statement that the Italian Navy, in collaboration with the US Navy, had coordinated the safe passage of the bulk carrier Yasa Moon through the Strait of Hormuz. According to information provided by the shipping group, the operation began forty-eight hours after the signing of the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran. In effect, the operation would constitute the Italian Navy’s first de facto operational deployment in the Strait of Hormuz following the agreement between the US and Iran, in coordination with the US Navy.

At this stage, the use of the conditional tense is essential. The document describes an Italian military operation, although the Ministry of Defence has not yet issued a statement on the matter. There has not yet been any confirmation from an official source.

- “The Iranians have agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency back into the country”, and this represents “a milestone” towards reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme. This was stated by the US Vice-President, Jd Vance. “This is an important step for the American people,” Vance continued, “and a first step towards the definitive cessation of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. We have laid excellent foundations for a successful final agreement,” the US Vice-President concluded.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow, following talks with the United States. This has been reported by Iranian state media.

“We want to establish a mechanism to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. It is open,” said US Vice-President JD Vance today. “We want to ensure that we establish a mechanism to guarantee that, when conflicts inevitably arise, we can address and resolve them,” explained Vance during a press conference held today following talks in Switzerland.

China supports the mediation efforts undertaken by Pakistan, Qatar and other parties, and hopes that both Iran and the United States will maintain the momentum of the negotiations, continue to cooperate and work towards achieving positive progress in the talks. This was stated by the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Guo Jiakun, whilst answering questions during a press briefing. The Global Times reports this.

“Talks between Iran and the United States have concluded successfully in Switzerland. The discussions took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and have led to encouraging progress,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X.

“The discussions took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and led to encouraging progress, including agreement on a roadmap to reach a final agreement within 60 days, the establishment of a High-Level Committee tasked with the political oversight of the process, and the launch of further technical talks”, the Pakistani leader stated. “I congratulate the leadership of both the United States and Iran on their continued commitment to constructive dialogue, and I thank all our brotherly nations and friends for their valuable support in promoting this historic process”, remarked the Pakistani Prime Minister, also extending his thanks to the Qatari diplomatic corps, “whose support was vital in creating the necessary conditions for these negotiations to proceed”. “Thanks are also due to the Swiss Government for facilitating and hosting these talks,” Sharif added.

The funeral of former leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the US and Israeli attacks on 28 February, will take place on 8 July in the cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, said Iman Attarzadeh, an official in charge of the commemorations for the late leader. The funeral ceremonies in Iran will be dedicated to the leader and four members of his family who were killed alongside him, said Attarzadeh, quoted by the IRNA news agency, adding that the ceremonies will begin in Tehran from 4 to 6 July, continue in Qom and in Iraq, and on 9 July Khamenei will be buried in the shrine of the eighth Shia Imam, Reza, in Mashhad

The Iranian delegation has left the venue of the talks in Switzerland to return to Tehran. This was reported by Tasnim. After around 18 hours of “intense talks and consultations”, the agency reports, the Iranian delegation left the building where the negotiations took place. The talks with the United States took place with Qatar and Pakistan acting as mediators.

The Iranian delegation has returned to Tehran after “18 hours of intense discussions” with US mediators in Switzerland. This has been reported by state media.

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.