In a moment when the old machinery of war and diplomacy grinds against itself, the American president has announced that a land blockade now chokes the overland routes into Iran, while he prepares to raise the twin questions of nuclear weapons and the conflict itself with the leaders of China and Russia at the coming APEC summit. He has offered a conditional peace: strikes are unlikely to resume so long as talks over Iran's nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz move forward. Tehran, for its part, has warned that any renewed bombing would bring a ferocious reply, so the pa
Trump Says He Will Raise Iran and 'Denuclearisation' With Xi and Putin at APEC as Land Blockade Takes Effect
Renewed strikes are "highly unlikely" if talks progress
Mark
Why does it matter that Trump is naming Xi and Putin specifically?
Mimi
Because he's saying the Iran war and denuclearisation will be on the agenda with two leaders who aren't in Washington's corner. It treats the summit as a place to talk about Iran, not just trade.
Mark
And the blockade? It's described as in effect.
Mimi
On land supply routes, yes. That's Trump's statement that it has taken effect, alongside his line that renewed strikes are highly unlikely if talks progress.
Luke
Careful with that. "In effect" is his claim. What we're given doesn't describe how it's enforced or what it has actually stopped.
Mark
What about the conditions he set?
Mimi
Progress on Tehran's nuclear programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Those are the two things he links to holding off strikes.
Luke
But nobody has said what counts as progress, or who is negotiating. "Highly unlikely" is a forecast, not a commitment.
Mark
And Iran's side?
Mimi
Tehran has threatened to rain down hell if attacks resume. That's a direct counterweight to the calm in Trump's phrasing.
Luke
Also, he said he expects to speak with Xi and Putin. That's an expectation, not a confirmed meeting. We should see whether it happens.
Il Polso
- A US blockade of Iran's land supply routes is now in effect, tightening economic pressure during an active war.
- Tehran has threatened to 'rain down hell' if American strikes resume, raising the stakes of any miscalculation.
- Trump ties the halt in bombing to progress on Iran's nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Trump plans to press Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on the war at next week's APEC summit, though no formal meetings are confirmed.
- The path to de-escalation remains unclear, as the state of negotiations and the terms of 'progress' are still undefined.
In a moment when the old machinery of war and diplomacy grinds against itself, the American president has announced that a land blockade now chokes the overland routes into Iran, while he prepares to raise the twin questions of nuclear weapons and the conflict itself with the leaders of China and Russia at the coming APEC summit. He has offered a conditional peace: strikes are unlikely to resume so long as talks over Iran's nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz move forward. Tehran, for its part, has warned that any renewed bombing would bring a ferocious reply, so the pause rests on a fragile balance that the coming weeks will test.
President Donald Trump has said he expects to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week's APEC summit. He plans to raise two matters with them: denuclearisation and the war on Iran.
His remarks came alongside news that a US blockade of Iran's land supply routes is now in effect. The measure aims at the overland channels that bring goods into the country, adding to the pressure Washington has applied throughout the conflict.
Trump also offered a condition for restraint. Renewed US strikes, he said, are 'highly unlikely' if talks advance on Tehran's nuclear programme and on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Military restraint, in his framing, depends on diplomatic progress.
Tehran has answered sharply, with officials warning they would 'rain down hell' if the US resumes attacks. The pause in bombing, seen from Iran's side, is fragile.
The reporting leaves much open: whether meetings are formally scheduled, who is negotiating, what counts as enough progress, and how the blockade is enforced. The key test will be whether the APEC conversations produce a shared diplomatic track on Iran's nuclear programme.
President Donald Trump said he expects to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week's APEC summit, and that he intends to raise two subjects with them: "denuclearisation" and the war on Iran.
The remarks came alongside a separate announcement. Earlier, Trump said the latest US blockade of Iran's land supply routes is now in effect. The measure targets the overland channels through which goods reach the country, and it adds to the pressure the United States has been applying during the conflict.
Trump also set out a condition for restraint. He described renewed US strikes on Iran as "highly unlikely" provided there is progress in talks on two fronts: Tehran's nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The statement ties the military question directly to the diplomatic one. Progress on the nuclear file and on the waterway, as he framed it, would keep the bombing from resuming.
Tehran has answered in sharply different language. Iranian officials have threatened to "rain down hell" if the United States resumes its attacks. The warning suggests that, from Iran's side, the pause in strikes is fragile and that any return to bombing would be met with a forceful response.
The two leaders Trump named are significant choices. Xi and Putin head governments that are not aligned with Washington on the Iran war, and by saying he plans to bring up the conflict with both, Trump is signalling that he sees the summit as a venue for the issue and not only for trade or regional business. The source does not say whether any meetings have been formally scheduled, and Trump's wording was that he expects to speak with them.
What remains unclear is how the pieces fit together. A land blockade is a coercive step, while the talks Trump describes are diplomatic, and the reporting does not detail the state of those negotiations, who is conducting them, or what specific progress he would consider sufficient. Nor does it say how the blockade is being enforced.
The thing to watch is what happens at APEC. If Trump's conversations with Xi and Putin take place and produce any shared diplomatic track on Iran's nuclear programme, that would indicate whether his "highly unlikely" formulation has substance behind it, or whether Tehran's warning of hell becomes the more relevant forecast.
Citazioni salienti
Renewed strikes on Iran are "highly unlikely" if there is progress in talks.— US President Donald Trump
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Politics & Governance