Hunting ban in Arabia: from the Red Sea to the Gulf, the issue affecting Italy
The minister: “None of our military personnel are involved; all security measures are in place”
Key points
There is a common thread – and not a particularly subtle one – linking the Ta’if airbase in Saudi Arabia, which is used by an international coalition in the fight against Daesh – it was here, on Thursday night, that an Italian Eurofighter was hit whilst on the ground, probably by a Houthi drone – and a strait, that of Bab al-Mandeb, a crucial maritime chokepoint for the transit of goods and energy between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This thread is woven from the cross-border raids between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Houthis. And it is a thread that also touches on Italia, which finds itself operating within the context of the ‘wider Mediterranean’.
Italian fighter jet hit at base in Saudi Arabia
Italian personnel are stationed at the base in Saudi Arabia. Guido Crosetto gives an account of what happened. ‘An Italian F-2000 aircraft, which was located within the base in a remote area, was struck,’ the minister explained. ‘No Italian military personnel were involved, and there was no other damage to equipment or infrastructure used by our personnel.’ “I have asked the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Luciano Portolano, the Commander of the Joint Forces High Command, Lieutenant General Giovanni Maria Iannucci, and the Chief of the Air Force Staff, Air Marshal Antonio Conserva, to provide me with a further assessment – following those already carried out in recent weeks – on how the situation is developing, the conditions of our personnel and possible operational options,” the minister added. ‘I was reassured that all safety measures to protect military personnel had already been in place for some time.’
Houthis: ‘We are not at war with Italia’
Nasr al-Din Amer, deputy head of the Houthi (Ansar Allah) Media Authority and chairman of the board of directors of the Sabaa news agency, made it clear to the Adnkronos news agency that ‘we are not at war with Italy, nor do we wish for it to be drawn into hostile acts against our country or to support acts of aggression against our nation and our people. “At present,” he added, “we are at war with the Saudi enemy, which has been besieging and attacking our country for 12 years.”
Crosetto steps up the pressure on the Bab al-Mandeb dossier
At the same time, Crosetto has been taking action on the Aspides-Bab al-Mandeb dossier. The slowdown – if not a complete standstill – in Italian naval operations began with the intensification of Houthi attacks in the strait between Djibouti and Yemen. After raising the possibility that Italia might decide to escort ships in the Red Sea outside the framework of the European mission, the Defence Minister wrote a letter to Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He asked her to strengthen the European Aspides mission by having other countries deploy additional military vessels.
Rome calls on the EU for more ships and more funding
Italia – as we have learnt – is reportedly prepared to send a second frigate (in addition to the Bergamini), if requested, but the other countries would need to contribute to share the financial burden of the operation. “We have been asking the European Union for months to reinforce the Aspides mission,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani noted on the sidelines of the presentation at the Farnesina of the First Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum. “Italia and Greece,” he added, “are doing a great deal”, but “if we are to safeguard the whole of Europe, then if there is no military contribution, there must be a financial one. Crosetto has written to Kallas; I hope the response will be positive in the near future”.
