Following France and Germany, Italy also formalized a plan to support Gulf allies that suffered damage from Iran's retaliatory attack. As the fallout of the war spreads to areas near Europe, including a drone strike on the British air base in Cyprus, a clear trend is emerging of major European countries deploying air defense and naval assets.
On the 5th, local time, according to Reuters, Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a radio interview that "like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, Italy also plans to support the Gulf countries," adding, "the support will focus on defense, especially air defense." Meloni emphasized the need for protection, noting that "tens of thousands of Italians live there and 2,000 Italian troops are deployed."
The Italian military has been stationed at Kuwait's Al Salem Air Base since 2014, and the base was reportedly hit by an Iranian missile attack on the 28th of last month. France is also raising its response level, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot saying on the 3rd that "Rafale fighter jets have been mobilized to secure the airspace above French military bases in the Middle East." France has also allowed the temporary stationing of U.S. military aircraft at some bases in the Middle East, a Spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) told AFP.
The sense of crisis among European countries has grown further with the Cyprus incident. On the 2nd, multiple drones flew toward the British Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus, damaging an aircraft hangar, and the United Kingdom and France subsequently sent additional warships to the Eastern Mediterranean to strengthen their readiness posture. Cyprus is considered the European Union (EU) member state closest to the Middle East.
Italy defense minister Guido Crosetto said in parliament that day, "Italy, together with Spain, France, and the Netherlands, will dispatch naval assets to Cyprus," adding, "the deployment will take place within days." Spain also said it would dispatch a frigate for an air defense mission to conduct operations with the French aircraft carrier and Greek vessels.
The previous day, a ballistic missile launched from Iranian territory toward Turkish airspace was shot down by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air forces deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean. With speculation that the missile may have targeted Turkey's southern Incirlik Air Base, military tensions are rising. In this situation, there are also concerns that if major European countries expand support for the Middle East, the conflict could escalate into an international security issue.