The Italian government decided to send military ships to the Mediterranean to reinforce Cyprus’ defense. The decision comes after the expansion of Iranian retaliations in the Middle East, amid the war involving the United States and Israel against Iran. The announcement was made this Thursday (5) by the Italian Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto.
According to Crosetto, Italy will act in coordination with Spain, France and the Netherlands to send naval assets “in the coming days” with the aim of protecting Cyprus from new attacks that could be carried out by Iran. The measure comes after Iranian drones hit targets in the region, including a British base in southern Cyprus.
The military movement occurs even as European leaders demonstrate discomfort and raise doubts about the legitimacy of the offensive led by the United States and Israel against the Islamic regime.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated this week that Italy is not participating in US offensive operations against Iran. Meloni highlighted that American military bases on Italian soil follow current bilateral agreements and are not being used for bombings against Islamic regime targets.
“We are not at war and we do not want to go to war”, declared the prime minister.
In addition to ships, Italy is studying sending air defense, anti-missile and anti-drone systems to protect allies in the Persian Gulf who have also suffered Iranian attacks. The Italian move follows similar decisions already adopted by the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Greece, which announced the deployment of frigates, destroyers and fighters to reinforce protection in the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf.
