Carla Conti

The footage, filmed near Palagonia in eastern Sicily, shows two horses pulling small carts along a public road surrounded by a convoy of scooters.

Some of the number plates are blacked out.

Several riders appear to be armed.

In the video, gunshots are fired into the sky and at least one man can be seen holding what looks like a Kalashnikov.

Illegal horse and cart races have a long history in Sicily and other parts of southern Italy.

Investigators at animal rights groups say they are used by criminal families with ties to the mafia to make money through illegal betting, but also to project power, closing off roads and drawing crowds to show who really controls the territory.

The images were posted online by the animal rights activist Enrico Rizzi, who says he received them from an anonymous source.

Police later carried out raids in Catania's San Cristoforo neighbourhood.

Two men have been reported to prosecutors, and the horses have been seized after officers found they had no legal registration or microchips.

Immediately after President Trump made this announcement, government loyalists in Tehran and other cities, including Mashhad, started celebrating on the streets as a victory.

They consider this that the president has backed down because of Iran's upper hand in the Persian Gulf and the Hormuz Strait.

So for them, this is a clear win.

But of course, the regime itself knows it's in a very delicate and difficult position now with the extension of the ceasefire.

One official reaction that we had after the announcement was a statement published by the Khatam al-Ambiya Central Command of Iran's Armed Forces Committee.

which said that Iran's armed forces are 100% ready and they have their fingers on the trigger.

And if the U.S.

attacks Iran, then they will attack predestined targets that they've already locked on.

One problem the Iranian side has here is lack of trust and lack of confidence.

They've been attacked by the Americans and Israelis twice in the middle of negotiations.

So they are very careful not to be surprised again with another attack