AGI – In a moment of maximum crisis on the international scene, the G7 Foreign Ministerial meeting which opens this evening is trying to defuse at least some fuses. What awaits the heads of diplomacy of Italy, the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain and Japan will not be an easy task. Israel has been threatening a reaction to Iran’s attack for days and the ayatollah regime also today warned against possible reprisals, with a muscular display of its army, marched on the occasion of National Day. The G7 “has the objective of building peace and de-escalation in a very tense context”, said the host, the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, upon his arrival in Capri. The fear is that of a disproportionate reaction from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government: the executive is divided, but the prime minister – who today received the head of the Foreign Office, David Cameron, and the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock – reiterated that no one can tell him what to do: “Thanks to our friends for the support in air defense and for all the advice, but let’s be clear that we will make our own decisions and will always do everything to defend ourselves.”
While waiting for a response that could be disproportionate, Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, renews its appeal for moderation: “Israel has the right to defend itself but we will see what kind of reaction it will have. We want that prudence”, urged Tajani. Israel is evidently not satisfied with the political ‘victory’ achieved so far: the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has taken a back seat, for the first time the wave of Iranian missiles and drones has managed to make several Arab countries intervene, directly or indirectly at his side. Already on Sunday, immediately after the Iranian attack, the G7 convened by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had made an appeal for moderation, and asked for a truce, the unconditional release of the hostages and for the flow of aid to Gaza. Now an extra piece is being added in an attempt to appease Netanyahu’s government. “We will see if it will be possible to impose sanctions on Iran and of what kind”, anticipated the deputy prime minister. According to what has been leaked, there is a general agreement so that the meeting will send out a political message to the international community so that sanctions are issued on individuals in Iran who are involved in the production, marketing and delivery of the missiles and drones used so often Ukraine, which against Israel and the Houthis in the Red Sea: those in Iran who contribute to the supply chain of ballistic missiles should end up in the crosshairs, the same chain of command that supplies them to Russia and Iran’s allied groups. (Hezbollah and Houthis).
Another hot topic is Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelensky has long called for greater air defenses to deal with Russian aggression. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today explicitly asked the allies to do more to support Kiev: “Germany, which has already delivered two Patriot systems, has decided to deliver another. It is immediately useful for Ukraine, but we want to encourage others to do the same,” he said upon his arrival at the EU summit in Brussels. Well, the G7 also intends to accelerate the delivery of anti-aircraft systems. Pressing is also done by Italy and the United States; in particular, Italy’s contribution could materialize in the financing of a credit line for the purchase of the F16s, the planes on which the Ukrainian pilots were trained.
