If one were to search for the best headline for the historic event that the Swiss city of Geneva hosts this Friday, 19 June 2026 — talks between the United States and representatives of the Iranian regime — it would likely be: the world between hope and caution. Hope, because what will be achieved will work, even if only for a short time, to ease some of the files that have exhausted the international community, chief among them the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which has proved to be the lifeline of the world. Caution, because what is being concluded remains a framework or memorandum of understanding valid for 60 days, after which the world will see more clearly which direction it must take.
Everyone in the world needs the war to end, but without doubt the Iranian regime needs it more than most. It faces one of its most severe challenges since 1988, when it was compelled to accept a halt to the war with Iraq under UN Security Council Resolution 598. At that moment, the regime's leader, Khomeini, said: