ROME, June 24 - Italy on Wednesday publicly disputed remarks made by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that hundreds of U.S. aircraft had launched from American facilities on Italian territory in support of military operations tied to Iran.
Speaking to Fox News television, Rutte singled out Italy as an example of European backing for the United States and said 500 U.S. planes had taken off from U.S. bases in Italy "to support Epic Fury", Washington’s name for the war it launched alongside Israel. His comments set off a political reaction in Rome, where the government has repeatedly maintained it did not approve the use of Italian soil for direct combat action against Iran.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto issued a statement stressing that Italy had acted in strict accordance with its constitution, international treaties and the agreements that regulate allied bases on Italian soil. "As already clarified in parliament, the government authorised exclusively technical and logistical, non-kinetic activities," he said, and added that Rome had denied requests that exceeded those parameters.
Crosetto expressed surprise that Rutte, who "has nothing to do with Operation Epic Fury", had described the matter in a way that produced what the minister called a "totally misleading message" by conflating flights authorised for support and logistics with combat-related operations.
The row comes against a backdrop of already frayed ties between Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.S. President Donald Trump following a public disagreement last week over Italy's refusal to back the U.S. military campaign against Iran and Mr. Trump's personal attacks on the Italian leader.
Italy hosts roughly 120 U.S. military facilities, among them the Sigonella naval air station in Sicily and the Aviano air base in northern Italy, both cited in official descriptions of U.S. basing in the country. A NATO official responding to requests for comment said Rutte had only "highlighted how Allies including Italy carried out their existing bilateral agreements in the context of basing and overflights."
Opposition figures seized on Rutte's remarks and demanded more answers from the government. Five Star Movement leader and former prime minister Giuseppe Conte urged Prime Minister Meloni to provide clarification in parliament. Nicola Fratoianni of the Green and Left Alliance remarked that either the government had misinformed lawmakers or Rutte "has suffered a heatstroke."
The exchange has intensified scrutiny on what kinds of activities allied nations authorise on their territory and how those approvals are described publicly. Italian officials have insisted the record, as explained in parliament and in statements to NATO, shows the government limited authorisations to non-kinetic support roles and turned down requests that would have involved direct combat operations.
As the political reaction unfolded, questions remained over whether additional details would be provided in parliament, and whether NATO and Italian accounts could be further reconciled without introducing new operational claims.
Clear summary: Italian authorities say they permitted only technical and logistical flights from U.S. bases on Italian soil and dispute NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's statement that 500 U.S. planes had flown from Italy to support "Epic Fury." Opposition leaders have called for parliamentary clarification.