Italy rebukes NATO's Rutte over remarks on US use of bases in Iran war
Rome said it approved only technical and logistical flights, rejecting Rutte’s claim that 500 U.S. aircraft left Italian bases for the Iran campaign.
- The Italian Defense Ministry issued a sharp rebuke against NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, firmly denying that Rome permitted the United States to use military bases on its territory to launch offensive operations against Iran.
- The controversy erupted after Rutte claimed 500 U.S. aircraft had deployed from Italian bases to support "Operation Epic Fury"—the U.S.-led military campaign in the Middle East—using it in a Fox News interview as an example to counter Donald Trump's criticisms of European allies.
- Defense Minister Guido Crosetto expressed surprise at Rutte’s "completely misleading" narrative, clarifying that Italy strictly authorized non-kinetic, technical, and logistical flights in full compliance with its Constitution, and flatly denied any U.S. requests that exceeded those boundaries.
- The diplomatic blunder ignited a heavy domestic political storm for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose administration already faces strained relations with Trump over the conflict; Italian opposition leaders immediately demanded she testify before parliament to clarify if lawmakers had been misled.
- NATO swiftly scrambled to defuse the friction ahead of next month's Ankara summit, with an alliance spokesperson issuing a statement clarifying that Rutte was merely highlighting standard bilateral arrangements for logistical transit and overflight rights, rather than active combat participation.
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Italy rejects Rutte claims of 'massive' support for war on Iran
Italy rejects Rutte claims of 'massive' support for war on Iran Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has rejected comments by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte that Rome allowed US aircraft to use Italian air bases during the war on Iran. Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Rutte pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s statements that several EU allies had failed to support the US-Israeli assault, saying Italy had allowed “500 US planes”…
Mark Rutte's statements on flights from the Italian bases fuel the diplomatic clash: Tehran accuses Rome of complicity, while Washington criticizes the lack of European support. Crosetto and Tajani reject the reconstruction and reaffirm that Italy did not participate in the raids.
Mark Rutte says that 500 U.S. military aircraft were launched from bases in Italy in the war against Iran. The Ministry of Defense in Rome immediately stresses that it was not about combat operations. Now the Prime Minister is succumbing.
Zero Hedge
Nemos News NetworkRome Rebukes Rutte: Italy Rejects Claim US Flew Iran War Missions From Its Bases
Rome Rebukes Rutte: Italy Rejects Claim US Flew Iran War Missions From Its Bases It's no longer just a Trump-Meloni spat on the level of public rhetoric, but Italy is newly making clear that it is imposing real policy and limitations on the US, now clarifying that it had formally denied US use of its bases to strike Iran for past and future potential missions. This has been a long time in coming, as Italy already clearly restricted at least some…
Rutte spoke of U.S. aircraft that supported the Iran war from Italy, which was brought up by the Italian head of government.
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