Middle East: President Meloni chairs meeting at Palazzo Chigi

The President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, is continuing to closely follow developments in the Middle East and, this evening at Palazzo Chigi, she chaired another meeting, attended by Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, Undersecretary of State Alfredo Mantovano and, via telephone link, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers Matteo Salvini, Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, and Undersecretary of State Giovanbattista Fazzolari. The heads of the intelligence services were also present.

The meeting allowed for an updated assessment of the security situation for Italian nationals present in the region, which has been the subject of constant monitoring and assistance by the Crisis Unit since this morning, and on which the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, reported.

President Meloni also shared the assessments gathered over the course of the afternoon from her numerous telephone conversations with a number of European partners, starting with Chancellor Merz and Prime Minister Starmer, as well as with the King of Bahrain, the Amir of Kuwait, the President of the United Arab Emirates, the Amir of Qatar, and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. Further contacts are ongoing with the Sultan of Oman and the King of Jordan. There will be further contacts with our partners this evening and tomorrow during the meetings scheduled at the level of Foreign Ministers, within the framework of both the G7 and the European Union.

To the Gulf leaders, President Meloni expressed the Italian Government's solidarity and its condemnation of the unjustifiable attacks suffered by their nations.

As it has done in the past, the Government, with its European, regional and international partners, will remain committed to a solution to foster stability in the region and, at the same time, has reaffirmed its solidarity with Iran's civilian population who over the last weeks have courageously demanded that their civil and political rights be respected, suffering violent and unjustifiable repression.