Italy PM says Iran cannot possess nuclear arms alongside missile capabilities

ROME - Iran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons alongside a missile capability that could soon enable it to strike Europe, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday, warning that such a development could trigger a nuclear arms race.

"We cannot allow the Ayatollah regime to possess nuclear weapons, combined with a missile capability that could soon be able to strike Italy and Europe directly," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the Italian Senate.

Meloni said that Italy will supply anti-aircraft defence systems to Gulf countries facing Iranian strikes, aligning Rome with other European powers in a coordinated effort to bolster regional security amid the ongoing US-Israeli war with war.

“As already discussed in Parliament, we are supplying air-defence assets to the Gulf countries, just as the other main European countries have done – in particular the United Kingdom, France and Germany,” she told the Senate.

“Not only because they are friendly nations but also because tens of thousands of Italian citizens are present in that area whom we must protect, as well as around 2,000 Italian soldiers. The Gulf is vital for the energy supply of Italy and Europe,” she added.