Middle East crisis, G7: 'Iran risks uncontrollable escalation. Ready to respond to other destabilising initiatives".

Also summarising the position that emerged from the summit was European Council President Charles Michel. "Together with the G7 leaders, we unanimously condemned Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel". He wrote this on X, pointing out that 'all parties must show restraint. We will continue all our efforts to work towards de-escalation. Ending the crisis in Gaza as soon as possible, in particular through an immediate ceasefire, will make a difference'. Michel then announced that 'the situation in the Middle East, including Lebanon, will be discussed at the European Council next week'.

The summit was convened urgently by the Italian presidency to discuss the scenarios and possible repercussions related to the Tehran government's initiative. Meloni chaired the meeting. Already in the morning the prime minister had spoken on social X confirming the afternoon meeting with the other G7 leaders and the executive's line: 'The Italian government reiterates its condemnation of the Iranian attacks against Israel. The Italian presidency of the G7 has organised a leaders' conference for early this afternoon. We express strong concern about further destabilisation in the region and continue to work to prevent it".

Already, during the night, after the first reports of missiles and drones being sent against Israel, the Prime Minister had heard by telephone the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, the Head of Defence, Guido Crosetto, and the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for the Services, Alfredo Mantovano, and was following the development of the attack "with great attention".

Iran's attack then revolutionised the Prime Minister's agenda, who cancelled a number of planned engagements, including her visit to Vinitaly in Verona tomorrow, Monday 15 April. The government is therefore working to avoid an escalation of the crisis, as reiterated by the Prime Minister, and will be able to count on the collaboration of the opposition forces guaranteed by the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, who called the Prime Minister during the day.

On the security and control front, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, has instead let it be known that he is in contact with the prefects of Italian cities. And on Monday 15 April, at 3 p.m., the Committee for public order and safety is convened at the Viminale, with the heads of the police and intelligence forces, while today morning there was a meeting of the provincial Committee for public order and safety convened by the prefect of Rome, which 'was useful to test the security measures that are already very high in the city. There is, however, the utmost attention,' the prefect of Rome, Lamberto Giannini, explained at the end.

Giannini also reported that he had met with the Jewish community. "Since the crisis began, the services are always very high and there will always be maximum attention, but it was good to reason about the situation." As for a possible increase in security measures, Giannini made it clear that it is not on the table for now. "I have often dealt with terrorism and I must say that here in Rome, but also in Italy in general, there is always a great deal of attention and this was reiterated this morning, from the point of view of presence in the area, of apparatuses and information activity. With the Jewish community,' he concluded, 'there is a continuous and daily exchange, we are moving forward along this line. We are working to do well, to guarantee security but also a feeling of safety'.

Speaking on several media outlets in the morning, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani explained that there are no problems for Italians in the area at the moment. "We are following with great attention all our compatriots who are in the area, starting with the 1100 Italian soldiers of Unifil. I spoke just now with the ambassador in Tehran and the ambassador in Tel Aviv. All the Italians are being followed," said the minister when asked by Agorà on Rai3. "Out of prudence, the Italian school in Tehran has suspended classes in attendance for today. All 450 Italian students living in Iran have been notified. We have no signs of concern," the minister added.

During the night, it was Tajani again who had explained the strategy of the Italian executive, whose role, he had explained, is to avoid an escalation of the conflict. Tajani himself had then reassured on the conditions of the Italian soldiers deployed in various missions abroad. "Yesterday I asked the Iranian Foreign Ministry for guarantees for our soldiers who are deployed on the border between Lebanon and Israel. I was answered that there will be maximum attention'. Tajani then returned on Sunday morning to explain the latest developments. "Fortunately, the situation is improving. Airspace has been opened where it had been closed. The Iranian offensive has been repelled, almost all the 'Iranian' missiles and drones have been shot down and only a couple hit an airbase without doing any damage,' the minister said speaking on a Tg2 special. "Tomorrow I will bring together all the ambassadors of Arab and Muslim countries to address the situation" unfolding in the Middle East, the Farnesina titular added. "On Tuesday I will meet the Canadian minister, on Wednesday Blinken, then there will be the G7 in Capri. Everyone's goal is to work on de-escalation, to avoid a worsening of the conflict. We must do everything to prevent it from widening, it is certainly not easy'.

Already in the hours following Iran's attack, Tajani had stressed that Italy would work to avoid an escalation of the conflict. "There is a high concentration of military forces" in the area between the Middle East and the Red Sea. "Italy is not involved in attack operations with the navy but we are certainly following the situation with great attention and I am in constant contact with the defence minister and of course with the president of the Council," Tajani had explained, who in an interview with Corriere della sera on Sunday also highlighted the possible reverberations of the Iranian attack.

Iran's retaliation to the attack attributed to Israel against the consulate in Damascus risks "setting in motion a very dangerous spiral: the next few hours will be crucial". Just on Friday, Tajani had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. "I had asked him to convince his government of moderation and a sense of responsibility," explained the minister, who had "tried to assure his Iranian colleague of Italy's commitment, also as G7 presidency, to peace and to avoiding a widening of the conflict in the Middle East". In relation to the possible evolution of the crisis, Tajani then hoped that "Iran would stop, but it is too early to say, we will have to understand how long the attacks will continue, what damage they will cause, how deep they will go and on what targets. It is clear that the dynamics in the region are now undergoing a surge, an acceleration that could be very dangerous'.

Tajani also spoke of Italy's commitment by anticipating the convening of the G7, which then arrived on Sunday morning. "First of all we will mobilise the G7 countries of which we have the rotating presidency. We cannot renounce political action that must travel in parallel with the assessment of the intensity of Iranian military action and the damage it has caused. The first objective is to throw water on the fire. The thought goes first of all to the Gaza Strip but also to Lebanon where we have 1,100 soldiers, to the border between Israel and areas where Hezbollah is present: we act in every way for their security and we have received guarantees from Iran that there will be no repercussions. We do not want a spiral that politics may no longer be able to control,' he pointed out and then spoke of the consequences of the conflict for our country. 'Italy is at the centre of the Mediterranean: a new crisis would represent a tragedy that I do not even want to imagine. Even now the Red Sea region is in crisis: it may seem a very distant area to us, but a large part of our exports pass through the Suez Canal. However, the government is ready to handle any kind of scenario'.

From the pages of Il Corriere, the Minister of Foreign Affairs also added that "the first news reaching us about the ongoing attacks does not allow us to fully assess what will happen in the coming days. One thing is certain and I say it clearly: no one will be able to question the existence of Israel, the world will have to commit itself to the survival of the Jewish state'.

Speaking this morning on various broadcasts, Minister Tajani also pointed out that 'it is impossible to bring the Israeli defence system Iron Dome to Ukraine to make Kiev defend itself against Russian attacks'. It is a state-of-the-art system, the foreign minister explained, 'that has cost Israel years of work and effort', he said.

"The Iranian attack on Israel must be strongly condemned. The commitment of the international community must be all aimed at avoiding escalation, stopping the fire and building peace in the Middle East. On this I have already heard the Prime Minister to express all our concern and offer cooperation in Italy's interest'. This was stated in a note by PD secretary Elly Schlein.

So far, the reactions of government officials. But also from the other political forces come scattered statements after Iran's attack. "The Iranian theocracy fails to involve the other Arab countries in a coalition and that is good, they do not follow Iran's theocratic madness," Italia Viva leader Matteo Renzi told SkyTg24. "Iran has made an operation of great media impact, Israel has achieved the goal of stopping every attack but in all this where is Europe that does not touch the ball on any of these dossiers, they are doing the tweets...".

From the majority, however, comes the comment of the president of Noi Moderati, Maurizio Lupi. "We condemn Iran's attack on Israel, which risks leading to a dangerous escalation. We follow the facts with apprehension, we are close to our Israeli friends whom we urge to stop operations involving civilians in Gaza, and we support the government line expressed by President Giorgia Meloni and Minister Antonio Tajani. It is crucial now not to be divided and to work all together, in Italy and in Europe, for an immediate de-escalation and for peace in the region'.