Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein said Monday Premier Giorgia Meloni must report on the Middle East crisis sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran at the weekend while the other main opposition leader, 5-Star Movement (M5S) chief Giusepe Conte, said the operation was a disaster and was spurring limitless escalation.
Speaking after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defence Minister Guido Crosetto briefed the parliamentary foreign affairs committees and urged national unity, Schlein told the session: "We appreciate your (Tajani and Crosetto's) willingness to come, but we ask for a briefing from the Prime Minister, because the political implications affect the entire country.
"We need a clear statement from Meloni." Two-time ex premier Conte, for his part, said: "According to the centre-right's narrative, we're all in favour of the (Iranian) regime, but that's not the case: we took to the streets to protest against that brutal regime.
"But we can't rely on bombs to change the regime, because history has never recommended such interventions." Conte then added: "We'd like to know what the government thinks; we can't delude ourselves into thinking the regime will step aside.
It's a disaster, an unrestrained escalation with civilian casualties and missiles targeting our fellow citizens."
