Italy is not at war and does not intend to take part in any military escalation. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated this in her communications to the Senate on the developments of the Iranian and Middle Eastern crises and in view of the next European Council on 19 and 20 March.
It is taking place in the Middle East «a complex crisis, certainly among the most complex in recent decades, which requires acting with clarity and seriousness. I sincerely hope that it can also be addressed with a constructive and cohesive spirit, removing the discussion from a political polarization which, by trivializing, does not help anyone to think in depth”, stated the Prime Minister.
«There is no government “accomplice” to other people’s decisions, nor an “isolated” government in Europe, nor a government responsible for the economic consequences of this crisis», continued Meloni, calling for a spirit of national unity «in the face of one of the most difficult bends in recent history».
We meet «faced with a clear crisis of international law and multilateral bodies, and the collapse of a shared world order”, underlined the prime minister. «It is in this context of structural crisis of the international system, in which threats are becoming increasingly frightening and unilateral interventions conducted outside the perimeter of international law are multiplying, that we must also place the American and Israeli intervention against the Iranian regime».
And he clarified: «An intervention which, I say straight away to avoid any misunderstanding, Italy does not take part and does not intend to take part. A military escalation that Italy has instead undertaken, in recent months, to avoid, together with nations such as Oman and Qatar”.
On the issue of relations with the United States and military bases on Italian territory, Meloni explained: «The bases granted to the Americans in Italy depend on agreements that date back to 1954 and which have always been updated, by governments of all colors. According to those agreements, there are technical authorizations when it comes to logistics and non-kinetic operations, which do not involve – to simplify – bombing. In the event that requests for use of the Italian bases for other activities were to arrive, the power to decide whether or not to grant that use would fall – again by virtue of those agreements – to the government”.
«But, on this point, I clearly reiterate the position that the government has already expressed: the decision, in that case, for us would be up to Parliament. Likewise, and to avoid any misunderstanding, I would like to clarify that to date no request in this sense has been received. Just as I reiterate that we are not at war, and we don’t want to go to war».
Regarding military bases, the Prime Minister referred to what was decided by the Spanish Government. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has denied the US use of the two bases in Andalusia because, as explained by the Madrid Defense Minister, the cooperation agreements establish that US troops must operate within the framework of international law, which is not happening in the Iranian crisis. Meloni noted that Spain has denied the use of the bases outside of what is established in the agreements with the US, he did not question the agreements themselves. This is exactly what Italy is also doing, the prime minister underlined.
