US attack on Iran, Meloni worried about the risk of escalation. But if the Tehran regime falls it is good news
Donald Trump and Georgia Meloni
Caution. Maximum caution at Palazzo Chigi, by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the entire government, due to the surprise attack by the United States on three Iranian nuclear sites that occurred during the night between Saturday and Sunday. The reaction of the Tehran regime and the Pasdaran, in words, was very harsh: "We will reduce the US bases in the Gulf to ashes". And the Houthis , the Yemeni rebel group supported by Iran, also made their voices heard forcefully, announcing that their response to the US attacks on Iran will be "only a matter of time". Shortly before, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council had threatened to " expand the scope of the conflict " if the attacks on Iran did not cease.
As is well known, the prime minister has always been Donald Trump's closest European ally, the only EU representative present at the inauguration in Washington in January and a 'bridge' between the two sides of the Atlantic to keep the dialogue open both on the various war fronts and on the dispute over US tariffs. But this time, for Meloni, caution is the watchword. The fear, as explained by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres , who said he was "gravely concerned by the use of force by the United States against Iran today" is that of a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the brink and a direct threat to international peace and security" (Guterres' words).
It will also be very important to understand what reaction Russia and China will have, especially Vladimir Putin, given that Iran is a close ally of Moscow to which it supplies drones to strike in Ukraine (not so much the hot statements, which are quite obvious, of condemnation, but rather what will happen in the next few days).
On the other hand, however, if it is true that there is a risk of escalation in the Middle East, it is equally true that at this point, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having no intention of stopping the attacks on Iran and the negotiations started by Europe, led by France and the United Kingdom, on Tehran's nuclear program have proved to be a failure,
the reasoning that is being done behind the scenes at Palazzo Chigi is that if Trump's intervention were to accelerate the implosion of the Ayatollah regime, in the end it would not be bad news. In short, out with the tooth (the Pasdaran), out with the pain (the war). Italy supports the line of diplomacy, dialogue and de-escalation and will do so through official channels with Palazzo Chigi and Farnesina, without obviously breaking with the White House, even if harsh criticisms were probably to come from some European chancelleries (Elysée and Macron first and foremost), but in the end if US military intervention were to sweep away the theocratic regime of Tehran , even if Meloni does not agree with the methods, it would not be bad news . Indeed, perhaps a solution could also be found for the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, which would no longer have the military support of Iran.
Affari Italiani
