NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said about 500 US aircraft took off from US bases in Italy to support 'Operation Epic Fury' against Iran, calling the scale "massive" in an interview with Fox News on June 23 or 24 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Rutte added that between 4,000 and 5,000 flight missions related to US operations were conducted across Europe, involving Italy's approximately 120 US military facilities, including Sigonella naval air station and Aviano air base [1, 2, 3, 4].
Italy quickly rejected Rutte's claim that it authorized direct military operations from its territory. The Italian Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto, said the government acted "in full compliance with its constitution and international agreements," authorizing "exclusively technical and logistical, non-kinetic activities" and refusing any requests outside those limits [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The Italian Defence Ministry added all authorized operations were within existing agreements and no combat missions were approved [3].
A NATO spokesperson, Allison Hart, clarified that Rutte's remarks referred only to existing bilateral agreements on base usage and overflights for logistical and technical support, not direct combat operations. She said, "The kind of support he referred to relates to logistics or technical support" and emphasized allies including Italy carried out their existing agreements [3].
The controversy sparked political tensions in Italy, with opposition politicians calling for the government to explain the claims in parliament [1, 2]. It also strained relations between Italy and the US, following prior disputes during the Trump administration over military support related to Iran [1, 4].
Iran condemned the NATO statements sharply. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei called them "ironclad proof of NATO's active participation in an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign country, seriously violating international law and the core principles of the UN Charter" [5].
The dispute over the nature of US flights from Italy continues, with Italy maintaining support was limited to non-combat logistical activities, while NATO leadership highlights the volume of allied cooperation. Italy’s government has pledged to provide full explanations to its parliament about the matter.
