On the 25th, Italian Foreign Minister Tajani told his Iranian counterpart by
phone he firmly rejects the NATO secretary-general’s recent claim that US forces
used Italian military bases in operations against Iran. Tajani said Italian
bases have never been used for attacks on Iran and will not be; no US warplanes
departed Italian territory to bomb Iran and Rome never authorised such
operations. The Iranian foreign minister thanked Italy for the clarification and
said a clear, formal denial was necessary.