Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, said that his country, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7, does not mind the group imposing new sanctions on individuals participating in actions against Israel in the wake of the Iranian attack.
Tajani said fresh sanctions would need the backing of all the G7, which includes Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Britain and the United States. He also suggested that any new measures would be focused on individuals rather than whole nations.
“If we need to have more sanctions for people clearly engaged against Israel, supporting for example terrorism, supporting Hamas, it is possible to do it. But we need to be very serious and to work all together,” he told Reuters.
The Italian foreign minister described the Iranian attack as a “big mistake” for Tehran but “positive” for Israel, as it had revealed the efficiency of its air defenses that shot down most of the drones and missiles with help from the US, Britain, France and Jordan, Reuters reported.
The agency also quoted him as saying in English: “The message coming from Tehran on this, (is) going in the right direction. This is only one attack. Also the reaction of the Israeli government has been positive.”
The Italian minister had a phone call with his Iranian counterpart before the attack to urge caution.
“For us it is important to protect Italian soldiers” working in the area under the auspices of the United Nations, he said, adding that Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen had to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which is vital to world trade.
Reuters reported that Tajani also reiterated that Italy was firmly opposed to any Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and repeated his call for a ceasefire, while also calling on Hamas to set free all the Israeli hostages it took during the Oct. 7 attack.
He stressed that an Israeli attack on Iran would only create more hurdles to restoring stability in the region. His comments came ahead of a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers on April 17-19 on the Italian island of Capri.
“All together we want to protect Israel, but we want to achieve stability and peace,” he said, quoted by Reuters.
