Italy is facing political blowback after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Rome had authorized 500 American flights from Italian bases during the first days of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Rutte made the remark before meeting Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, saying that one ally after another had made its bases available during Operation Epic Fury. The comment undercut Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had publicly said Italy did not support or take part in the American operation.
The Financial Times reported that Italy had aligned with Europe’s more critical camp nearly from the start of the war, and that Meloni had recently clashed with Trump after he accused her of refusing to cooperate despite the countries’ ties and NATO membership. Italy’s defense ministry rejected Rutte’s account, calling it misleading and insisting the authorized flights were only “technical and logistical” movements covered by existing agreements. It said any request outside that scope was denied.
The opposition is now demanding that Meloni appear in parliament and explain the gap between her statements and Rutte’s remarks. The issue has become especially sensitive because Meloni had touted her refusal to back Trump’s war effort. The report was written by Amy Kazmin and Henry Foy.
Separately, the article notes that Iran is using social media videos and posts to project support for the regime, including from former opponents, and that in southern Lebanon sectarian tensions are resurfacing as mostly Shiite evacuees are barred from sheltering in some localities after Israeli evacuation orders. It also says German politician Volker Beck plans to join as a co-plaintiff in a Hamburg trial over an alleged Iranian plot to kill him and Jewish leader Josef Schuster.
