Overview
- NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said late last week that allied territory, naming Italy and Romania, had been used to support about 500 U.S. aircraft for Operation Epic Fury.
- Italian leaders, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, promptly denied authorising any bases for strikes and said Italy did not take part in combat operations.
- Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, said transit flights through Sigonella and Aviano during the Epic Fury period were lower than in previous years and that bases provided only technical and logistical support.
- A NATO official later clarified Rutte was referring to existing bilateral basing, overflight and logistical agreements rather than to direct Italian participation in attacks.
- Iran’s government has framed the initial remarks as legally serious and cited UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 to argue that allowing third‑party use of territory for attacks can amount to an act of aggression, raising diplomatic and legal stakes.