Italian PM: We did not participate in war against Iran

Pars Today – Italy’s prime minister emphasized on Thursday night that her country did not participate in the war against Iran.

According to Pars Today, citing IRNA, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, responded to remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte after the 36th France-Italy Intergovernmental Summit, stressing that Rome was never involved in the war against Iran.

In an interview with Fox News, Rutte had announced that European NATO members, including Italy, had unofficially made their bases available to the United States in support of an operation referred to as “Operation Epic Fury.”

The NATO chief added: “If you look at Italy, 500 American aircraft took off from bases in that country to support Operation Epic Fury. That is a very large number.”

Meloni said that the NATO secretary general had mixed up issues that were actually different and confused authorized flights with military participation. She added that he later corrected his remarks.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying that caution is needed when discussing such issues, added that Rutte’s “accidental” remarks could have international consequences.

She stressed that she agreed with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto’s statement that Rome did not participate in the war against Iran, saying: “We did not take part in the war against Iran.”

Meloni added: “Furthermore, if we had participated in the war against Iran, the disappointment expressed by the U.S. president would be inexplicable.”

Meloni was referring to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Italy’s lack of participation in the war against Iran.

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani held a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday evening and rejected the NATO secretary general’s remarks regarding the use of Italian military bases by the United States in military operations against Iran.