Italy-US Alliance "Solid" Despite Iran, Hormuz Tensions: FM

(MENAFN) Italy's foreign minister has pushed back against mounting transatlantic friction, insisting the Rome-Washington partnership remains firmly intact even as disagreements over Iran policy and Middle East military commitments have strained diplomatic relations.

Speaking to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani drew a clear distinction between the enduring alliance and the individuals occupying the White House.

"The alliance is solid and it is with the US, not with Trump, or Obama, or Biden," Tajani said.

The remarks follow pointed criticism from US President Donald Trump, who questioned Italy's posture on the Iran crisis and raised the prospect of scaling back American military forces stationed at bases across Italy.

Tajani acknowledged Europe's reliance on Washington but argued the dependency ran both ways — framing Italy and the broader European continent as strategically and economically indispensable to Western security.

"It would benefit no one to weaken a continent like ours and a country like ours, which are strategically and economically essential, including for the security of the entire West," he said.

Responding directly to US accusations that Rome had fallen short in supporting American-led efforts across the Middle East, Tajani flatly dismissed the charges.

"It's not true that Italy 'did nothing,'" he said, pointing to Italian troop deployments under NATO and UN peacekeeping frameworks — most notably in Lebanon.

Tajani outlined Rome's readiness to deepen its Lebanese engagement, citing plans to offer military training to Beirut's government alongside support from Italy's financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, targeting arms trafficking networks, drug smuggling operations, and terrorist financing channels.

"We have never backed down, from Iraq to Afghanistan: our soldiers have died defending peace and freedom," he added.

On the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global shipping artery now caught in the crossfire of US-Iran tensions — Tajani signaled Italy's conditional willingness to contribute naval assets.

Rome could deploy minesweepers to the waterway to help safeguard freedom of navigation, he said, though he attached strict preconditions to any such move, requiring "a consolidated truce and a framework of international agreements."

"We certainly don't want to go to war, but we will do everything necessary to ensure respect for international maritime law," he said.

Despite the tensions, Tajani confirmed that Italian and American officials have maintained active lines of communication. "We're allies, and we'll remain so, but we can't agree on everything," he said.

Looking beyond the immediate crisis, the foreign minister called for a structurally more assertive Europe — one that is "stronger, more cohesive, and more independent in terms of defense and foreign policy."

On the war in Ukraine, Tajani urged EU member states to hold a unified line behind Kyiv and preserve the sanctions architecture targeting Moscow.

The minister also raised alarm over the broader economic fallout of a prolonged Hormuz disruption, warning that blocked fertilizer shipments from Gulf states could spiral into a food security emergency across Africa.

"If the blockade continues for months, we will face food crises in many African countries, and Italian farmers are certainly already paying the price for the increase in fertilizer prices," he said.

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