Meloni rejects NATO claims over Italy's Iran role
Key Takeaways
- Giorgia Meloni said Italy did not participate in military strikes against Iran.
- She accused NATO chief Mark Rutte of confusing logistical support with combat operations.
- Meloni and Emmanuel Macron also proposed a multinational coalition to replace the UN mission in Lebanon.
Italian prime minister says Rome never authorised US military strikes from its bases as she dismissed NATO chief Mark Rutte's account
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has rejected claims that Italy played a military role in the recent US-Iran conflict, insisting the country never authorised American forces to launch kinetic attacks from Italian bases.
Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the Franco-Italian Summit in Antibes on Thursday, Meloni responded to comments made earlier this week by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“We did not participate in the conflict in Iran,” Meloni said at a joint press conference with Macron. “Clearly, by providing the bases for activities that were not kinetic but were of a logistical and technical nature.”
Rutte had said on Tuesday that around 500 US aircraft involved in Operation Epic Fury against Iran had departed from American military bases in Italy.
Meloni disputed that account, saying Italy only permitted logistical and technical activities and refused requests related to combat operations.
"When requests were made that went beyond that perimeter, we did not grant the use, the authorisation," she said.
She added that the issue had already been clarified with the Iranian government.
"The secretary-general, in his enthusiastic reconstruction, mixed together things that are actually different from each other, confusing the types of flights authorised, and he then corrected and clarified himself," Meloni said.
The remarks followed renewed criticism from US President Donald Trump, who said allies had failed to contribute enough during the conflict.
Beyond the Iran issue, Meloni and Macron announced plans to work toward creating a multinational coalition to replace the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
Macron said the proposed mechanism would help ensure Lebanon does not become a "starting point of a new regional escalation."
The leaders made the remarks during the 36th Italy-France Intergovernmental Summit in southern France.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
