ITALY PERSPECTIVE

Rome, June 22, 2026. The first round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, concluded Sunday on a formula that Italian press judges as cautiously positive but fundamentally unstable. According to ANSA and Adnkronos, the two delegations reached a 60-day roadmap, accompanied by a memorandum of understanding, and established a high-level joint committee charged with overseeing working groups on nuclear issues, sanctions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

US Vice President J.D. Vance, who led the American delegation alongside Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, displayed measured optimism, speaking of "major progress" and "steps forward." On the Iranian side, chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi nonetheless walked out of the negotiation room in protest after Donald Trump launched a series of sharp statements from Washington. The US president declared on Fox: "If you close Hormuz, you will no longer have a country," adding that he could "do whatever he wants" after the 60-day deadline expires.

This dramatic interruption, however, did not definitively end discussions. According to an Iranian source cited by CNN and reported by Libero Quotidiano, "informal dialogues" continued behind the scenes to allow negotiations to resume. Tehran's delegation remained physically at Bürgenstock after leaving the negotiation building, indicating through diplomatic sources that it remained "engaged."

The concrete achievements recorded by Italian media are significant: Pakistan and Qatar, serving as mediators, confirmed the establishment of a "communications channel to prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz," the setup of a "de-escalation cell" including Lebanon, and the grant of provisional exemptions to Iran from American sanctions on oil and petrochemical exports. Iranian delegation economist Hossein Ghorbanzadeh specified that "the agreement is nearly finalized" on these derogations.

The regional context complicates the entire picture: Israeli raids in southern Lebanon triggered a strait closure by Tehran in retaliation for what it characterized as a violation of the memorandum. At least seven deaths, including a child, were recorded in western Bekaa and the Tyre region, according to the Lebanese national agency NNA. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reaffirmed that "there is no safe zone for Israel in Lebanon."

For the Italian press, the balance sheet remains suspended: robust negotiation structures have been established, technical talks were set to continue in Switzerland throughout the week, but the coexistence between patient multilateral diplomacy and Trump's unpredictable rhetoric remains the primary variable of uncertainty.