Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Friday defended his and other European countries' non-involvement in the three-month-old United States-Israel war on Iran which has escalated in the Middle East region, denying reported remarks by US president Donald Trump that Italy, France and other G7 countries were "irrelevant" in ending the conflict.
"The war against Iran is one in which we have not taken part, that does not concern us, and in which we should not have participated," Tajani said on the sidelines of a conference of Italian diplomats at the foreign ministry in Rome.Moreover, the European Union is doing its utmost to help resolve the conflict, Tajani argued."We are doing our part. Europe is present, Italy is protecting maritime traffic in the Red Sea with a military presence...but we were not and will not be at war with Iran,” Tajani said.Tajani's remarks came after Italian-American journalist Daniele Compatangelo told Italy's La7 television channel early on Friday that he had spoken to Trump by phone after the US leader said that an accord to end the Iran war would be signed shortly. During the brief conversation, Trump said "we won the war, their help was totally irrelevant" when asked about Italy, France and the other G7 countries.
