Defence Minister Crosetto warns that imprecise comments by NATO Secretary General Rutte risk serious consequences beyond Italy’s borders. Rome insists all US flights from Italian bases during Operation Epic Fury were strictly logistical.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto warned Thursday that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s failure to distinguish between logistical and combat flights risks generating consequences that go well beyond a domestic row. Iran condemned Italy for alleged participation in Operation Epic Fury and Rome scrambled to contain a political storm ignited by Rutte’s remarks.
“The ‘random’ words of the NATO Secretary General are creating a domestic storm in a teacup, but risk producing far more serious consequences internationally,” Crosetto said in a statement.
What Rutte said
Appearing on Fox News ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump, Rutte said that some 500 US flights had taken off from bases in Italy in support of the campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury. Framing the figure as evidence of European solidarity with Washington, he added: “So that’s a huge number. If you look at all of Europe, we’re talking about between 4,000 and 5,000 flight missions.”
A NATO official later clarified that Rutte had wished to emphasise that the allies, including Italy, had implemented existing bilateral agreements on military bases and overflights. The clarification shed further light on his intention: to try to smooth over transatlantic differences ahead of his face-to-face meeting with Trump. However, this failed to take into account just how explosive the issue would prove within Italy itself.
Rome’s Response
Both Crosetto and Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani moved swiftly to contain the damage. Crosetto insisted that Italy had authorised only “technical and logistical, non-kinetic activities” in full compliance with the Constitution and international treaties.
The Defence Ministry statement expressed surprise that the NATO Secretary General, “who has nothing to do with Operation Epic Fury,” should present an account conveying a “completely misleading message” by confusing the types of authorised flights. He further added that a simple check at source would have been enough to obtain an accurate picture.
Tajani, speaking on the sidelines of the Italy-Tunisia Business Forum in Tunis, was blunt. “It was a storm in a teacup, because it has already been stated that the reference was not to war flights, but only flights for logistics operations. We have always respected the Constitution and the treaties; everything Italy has done has always been done in absolute compliance with the rules.” He added that the government stands ready to tell parliament “everything that needs to be said with great transparency.”
Opposition sees an opportunity
The opposition was less easily reassured. Angelo Bonelli of the Green and Left Alliance described Rutte’s comments as “extremely serious” and said they exposed Meloni’s “lies,” arguing that the Italian government had kept 500 American flights “hidden.”
Giuseppe Provenzano of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) went further. He said, “According to Rutte, the bases in Italy played a massive role in supporting Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal war against Iran, which is contrary to our principles and interests. Giorgia Meloni had given assurances that Italy would not be involved, yet we have learned that at least 500 US planes took off from Italian soil. Forget the to-and-fro on social media, forget the ‘Sigonella moment.’ The Prime Minister has the duty to urgently clarify these serious allegations.”
Italy hosts approximately 120 US military facilities, including major bases at Sigonella in Sicily and Aviano in the northeast. The bilateral agreements governing these bases, which date to 1954, allow logistical and non-combat operations but require separate authorisation for combat activities.
