For more than twenty years, the pipeline connecting Kirkuk in northern Iraq and Banias in Syria has been out of service. Built in 1952, it used to transport 300,000 barrels of oil daily, but it stopped working after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Now it has regained new prominence. The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz has reopened interest in recovering a route that allows Iraq to export its oil to the Mediterranean without depending exclusively on the Gulf.

Sixty days. This was the deadline that the United States and Iran gave themselves to transform the memorandum of understanding signed in June into a final agreement. The deadline expires this Monday without this agreement having been reached. And during these two months, the understanding that was supposed to contain the war has been on the verge of causing it to explode again. In fact, in the last few hours Tehran has raised its tone again: a high-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Guard has warned that its defensive stance will become "offensive" and has threatened with "strategic surprises" against the enemy.

Every few minutes an explosion interrupts the conversation. A dry crackle. Then another. And another. In the background, on Ali Taher hill, a column of smoke rises again. An Israeli drone slowly flies over the entrance to Zautar al-Gharbiyah while a small Lebanese army checkpoint regulates access to the village. It is the first "pilot zone" of the agreement negotiated between Lebanon and Israel under the auspices of the United States. On paper, it was supposed to symbolize the beginning of the Lebanese state's return to the south. On the ground, it is hard to imagine anyone living there again.

"An attack against Saudi Arabia will also be considered an attack against Turkey and Pakistan. And vice versa." This is established by the trilateral defense agreement reached this Friday in Mecca between Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad, which commits the three countries to respond jointly to an aggression against any of them.

Negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are advancing, although the final details remain unsettled. Iran and Oman have moved closer on a new maritime route to re-establish transit through this strategic passage, while Washington and Tehran maintain indirect contact to resolve the political obstacles that still block a definitive reopening.

For decades, the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia was built on a known balance: Washington guaranteed the kingdom's security, and Riyadh ensured the stability of the global energy market. A pact born in the second half of the 20th century that turned Saudi Arabia into a strategic partner for American policy in the Middle East.

The armored vehicle advances slowly. Not out of caution, but because every kilometer requires relearning a territory that has changed. A few weeks ago, this road was still closed even to the United Nations Blue Helmets. For the first time in several months, a patrol from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) travels from the east to the west sector of the south of the country. For the soldiers, it is a journey. For Lebanon, the reflection of a new reality.

The Houthis have once again opened a new front in the war between the United States and Iran. The Yemeni group has claimed a missile and drone attack against two Saudi oil tankers sailing in the Red Sea, in compliance with the threat issued days earlier to impose a maritime blockade against ships linked to Saudi Arabia crossing the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The attack has caused several oil tankers to alter their route, shipping companies to review their plans, and increased concern about a new disruption of world trade on one of the planet's most strategic maritime routes.

Jordan has ceased to be a secondary theater of war. After last Friday's attack on a military position in the northeast of the country, in which several American soldiers died, Iran attacked Jordanian territory again this Tuesday. Tehran assured that it had reached the Rukban area, near the borders with Syria and Iraq, and that it had caused new casualties among the American troops deployed there, information that Washington has not confirmed. Beyond the victim count, the succession of attacks reveals a fundamental change: the Hashemite kingdom, for decades one of the most discreet allies of the United States in the Middle East, has moved to occupy a central place in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

Iranians received an unexpected message this Saturday from the authorities: save electricity and gas at home. The recommendation may seem minor, but it is profoundly symbolic in a country that has the world's second-largest gas reserves and fourth-largest oil reserves. The American military offensive against Iran enters its second week, and the military escalation does not seem to be stopping. Even less so after two American soldiers were killed this Saturday in an Iranian attack with drones and ballistic missiles against a United States base in Jordan, according to a statement from the US Army's Central Command. A third soldier is missing and four others were injured.

The explosions continue to set the pace in southern Lebanon while in the negotiation rooms, attempts are being made to shape the future of the border. In Washington, they are talking about taking steps towards the first "pilot zones" foreseen in the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel. But just a few kilometers from the demarcation line, the reality is very different: the Israeli army maintains its positions and continues operations against what it considers Hezbollah infrastructure, and the border towns are still waiting for a withdrawal for which no date has been set.

The escalation between the United States and Iran enters a new phase. Attacks continue on Iranian territory while Tehran maintains its response against targets linked to Washington in various Gulf countries. The most significant change in this new stage is not occurring in the Strait of Hormuz, but in the region's capitals, where governments that for years tried to maintain a prudent distance from the rivalry between Washington and Tehran now face a difficult choice.

The bombings between the United States and Iran continued this Monday for the fifth consecutive day, in an escalation that could lead to a regional confrontation. Washington has launched a new wave of attacks against Iranian military infrastructure, while Tehran hardens its rhetoric and warns Gulf countries that providing logistical support to American forces will be considered an act of war.

The sirens have sounded again this Sunday in several Gulf countries as the United States and Iran have taken a new step in an escalation that threatens to squander the fragile memorandum of understanding signed just a few weeks ago between Washington and Tehran. After a third wave of American bombings against more than 140 Iranian military targets in recent hours, Tehran has responded with a coordinated offensive against American military installations in the Gulf. It has attacked with missiles and drones in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan, and has announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the artery through which around 20% of the oil and liquefied natural gas traded in the world passes.

While the United States and Iran exchange attacks and threats, Qatari mediators are keeping talks open in Tehran. Barely 48 hours after Donald Trump declared the memorandum of understanding "dead" and ordered new air strikes against Iranian infrastructureIranian infrastructure, the diplomatic channel remains open. In a post on Truth Social, the President of the United States has reflected the instability of the truce: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue the talks. We have agreed, but the United States has clearly told them that the ceasefire is OVER!".

For the second consecutive day, missiles have replaced diplomacy in the Middle East. Just two weeks after signing the memorandum of understanding that allowed a pause in fighting and opened the door to new negotiations between the United States and Iran, the attacks have intensified again. During Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Washington has once again bombed Iranian territory. The US military has stated that since Wednesday dawn it has struck nearly 170 military targets in the country, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance facilities, and missile and drone depots. According to the Iranian Ministry of Health, US attacks in the last two days have left at least 14 dead and 78 injured in five provinces of the country.

A week ago in Washington there were smiles, handshakes and an agreement presented as the beginning of the end of the war between Israel and Lebanon. However, the situation on the ground has barely changed. Israeli soldiers remain deployed in parts of southern Lebanon and thousands of residents are still displaced, waiting to return to their war-torn villages. The document, presented by the United States as the first step to stabilize the border and restore the authority of the Lebanese state, leaves the most important question unanswered: when will the Israeli occupation really end?

Before the sun beat down strongly on Tehran, thousands of people already occupied the surroundings of the Mosalla mosque. They wore black, held up portraits of the supreme leader and Iranian flags, and advanced in a slow choreography that turned the space into a state-sponsored stage. The authorities have prepared one of the largest funeral arrangements in the country's recent history, with official estimates speaking of between 15 and 30 million participants over the six days of ceremonies. In addition to Tehran, celebrations will extend to several key cities in the country and the Shiite space, and he will finally be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza, in Mashhad, the man who for 36 years concentrated the highest authority of the Islamic Republic, until he was killed on the first day of the joint attack by Israel and the United States, on February 28.

From the entrance of the Al Hamidiyyah souk, the commercial heart of Damascus, the explosion sounded like the echo of another era. The windows of some shops had trembled and, for a few seconds, no one knew what had happened. Then the sirens arrived. Ambulances and security vehicles tried to make their way through the traffic of a city that, in the middle of rush hour, was full of families strolling, tourists exploring the historic center, and residents seeking refuge from the heat in the city center cafes.

While Washington on Tuesday fueled expectations of a new diplomatic breakthrough with Iran, Doha strove to lower the tone. "It could be an important meeting. We will know later," stated the President of the United States, Donald Trump, before assuring that the United States is making "very good progress" in its efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. Hours later, Tehran specified that there are no direct negotiations with Washington and that any contact is being conducted through Qatar's mediation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not deny the movements or the continuity of contacts, but insisted that there are no direct talks between both parties.