Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared Thursday evening that Italy never participated in the conflict against Iran and never assisted the United States in striking Tehran, providing only technical and logistical support. The statement appears to respond to US President Donald Trump's previous criticism that Italy refused landing rights for US military aircraft during operations against Iran.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday evening addressed the ongoing diplomatic rift with the United States over Italy's role in US military operations against Iran, declaring: 'We never participated in the conflict of Iran and we never helped the US attack Tehran. We only provided technical and logistical support.'
The statement comes days after US President Donald Trump accused Meloni of refusing landing rights for US military aircraft during operations against Iran, undermining logistics despite US financial contributions to NATO. Trump's remarks, published on his social media account Saturday, triggered a sharp escalation in US-Italy tensions, with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceling a planned visit to the US and calling Trump's words 'grave and offensive to all of Italy.' Meloni had earlier called Trump's version 'absolute fiction' and said 'Italy never begs.'
As The Zioneer reported on Tuesday, Meloni has also stated that the international community cannot allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons given its long-range missile capability, and said Italy-US relations must return to their normal track. Thursday's formulation avoids confirming or denying the specific refusal-of-landing-rights claim while rejecting the characterization of Italy as a combatant.
A separate reporting thread has established that Italy and France are coordinating on a post-UNIFIL coalition for Lebanon, though Meloni's remarks Thursday were focused exclusively on the Iran confrontation.
- DevelopingTrump says Meloni begged for G7 photo, slams Italy's refusal to aid Iran military action
- DevelopingMeloni responds to Trump: 'My popularity is none of your business'
- DevelopingMeloni says Italy-US relations must return to normal track, downplays rift with Trump
- StrongItalian PM Meloni: 'We cannot allow the Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons'
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