ROME, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-Israel attack on Iran violated international law, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday while addressing parliament, Italian media reported.
"Of course it was outside the rules of international law," Crosetto replied to lawmakers' questions. "The conflict began without the world's knowledge. It is not a war we wanted, but now we have to manage it," he added.
Crosetto said he had raised the level of Italy's national air defense and anti-ballistic defense network to the maximum in coordination with allies and NATO, given the highly unpredictable reactions that could follow.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Italy has not authorized the use of its military bases in the Middle East for U.S. combat operations.
"We have never done so, and we have never said we would," he said, adding that Italy is not on the front line as a warmongering country.
Expressing concern over the escalating situation in the Middle East, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned of a growing crisis for international law in an earlier interview with Italian radio station RTL 102.5.
"Italy is not at war and does not intend to enter a war," she said, adding that the current conflict risks triggering further escalation with unpredictable consequences and could have repercussions for Italy.
On Saturday, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as members of his family, high-ranking military commanders, and civilians, according to Iranian officials. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East. ■
