«On the Edge of the Abyss»: the Italian government between the war in Iran and the fear of nuclear escalation

«Of course it was outside the rules of international law». This is the first explicit judgment from the government regarding the operation initiated by the USA and Israel in Iran, in response to the protests from the opposition, according to Guido Crosetto. A conflict that «started without the world's knowledge, which «we did not want» and «which we now have to manage», clarifies the Minister of Defense, whose communications to Parliament, alongside those of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, are preceded early in the morning by a radio interview with Giorgia Meloni. «We are not at war and we do not want to go to war», emphasizes the Prime Minister, who will also speak to the Chamber and the Senate next Wednesday.

She will anticipate the communications already scheduled for a week later, on the eve of the EU Council, expanding them to include the war in Iran. The announcement comes on the sixth day of the new conflict in the Gulf, following the meeting between the Prime Minister and Sergio Mattarella, and after days of controversy from the opposition: they called for her in the Chamber instead of the ministers, and now, particularly the PD, M5S, and Avs, interpret the move by the FdI leader as instrumental. The suspicion among the Democrats is that Meloni, coming to the Chamber seven days earlier, «does not want debates during the week of the referendum». The meeting of the group leaders convened to schedule the intervention of the Prime Minister in the Chamber ends in a dispute. Sparks have also been seen in the Chamber, both in Montecitorio and Palazzo Madama, with signs reading «Trump's Brothers» and «Italy is not the USA» waved by Avs.

In response to the accusations from the opposition, Tajani states that he has nothing to be ashamed of, «I have never been investigated, I am a decent, honest person», and the one who disrespected Parliament was «D'Alema when he sent Italian planes to bomb in the Balkans». The first statement raises eyebrows among some Berlusconi supporters, while the second provokes a reaction from Matteo Renzi: the minister «is appalling for his mediocrity», says the former Prime Minister, who instead takes a jab at Crosetto regarding relations with the Services. «I have full confidence - replies the minister - in Mantovano».

The M5s leader Giuseppe Conte accuses Meloni of having "run away" from Parliament, preferring "a monologue on the radio." "Sanchez says 'no to war', Meloni says nothing,” the attack from Elly Schlein, who argues that the government should oppose "immediately" the authorization of bases in Italy "to support in no way this war that violates international law."

The executive shows great caution on the issue. So far, there has been no American request to use the bases in Italy as a launch point for combat missions. And it won't come, government sources say, as the bases in Italy "are too far from the theater of war." "We adhere to the 1954 agreements, everyone is doing so," the line indicated by Meloni, referring to the 1954 agreements, which require only "technical authorizations" for operations "of logistics, not kinetic", essentially "not bombing." In the face of different requests, she adds, while maintaining the government's competence, "we will decide with the Parliament."

Meanwhile, the Chambers, with the majority resolution (in which the U.S. and Israel are never mentioned), guarantee the government the ability to support "EU member states in defense" against Iranian attacks, and deploy and reposition missile defense systems to support Gulf countries. Meloni, who also receives a call from Emmanuel Macron, with whom she coordinates to support the security of Cyprus, expresses concern about the risk of an escalation that would have "unpredictable consequences." She reiterates that the origin of the chaos is Moscow's aggression against Ukraine (she also has a call with Volodymyr Zelensky).

"We are on the brink of the abyss," the expression of Crosetto, worried that the situation "could allow Putin choices he would never have made under normal conditions," such as "tactical nuclear" against Kiev. The Prime Minister condemns the "disordered reaction of the Iranians," and guarantees a commitment to work on the diplomatic front "to understand if there are margins for a resumption of negotiations." If the conflict were to stop, the government is convinced it could play a role thanks to our Intelligence's traditional good relations with the Iranians. But first, Meloni clarifies, "Iran must stop attacking neighboring countries." On the domestic front, the Prime Minister adds, "there is a very high alert" regarding terrorism risks and speculation on energy prices, for which the Arera task force has been activated, with the threat of "increasing taxes" on companies that should impose increases on bills.