Italy disputes NATO chief's account of 500 US flights during Iran war, insists only logistical flights authorised

Rutte's Fox News disclosure

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox News that "500 U.S. aircraft took off from American bases in Italy" during Operation Epic Fury, the US-led military campaign against Iran. He described the number as "huge" and added that across Europe the total ranged "between 4,000 and 5,000 flight missions." Rutte made the remarks to counter the narrative that European allies had failed to support the United States during the conflict.

500 U.S. aircraft took off from American bases in Italy. So that's a huge number.

Rome pushes back

Italy's defence ministry issued a statement calling Rutte's account "completely misleading" and insisted that Rome had only authorised flights covered by existing bilateral treaties. The ministry stressed that every authorised mission was "technical and logistical, non-kinetic" and that requests outside that scope were denied. It pointed to the March decision to refuse permission for US bombers to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily as evidence that Italy had drawn a clear line.

Italy only authorizes flights that are provided for by the treaties and that completely exclude kinetic activities, as it has always done and as it will continue to do under the current agreements.

Opposition demands parliament debate

The revelation ignited a political firestorm. Five-Star Movement leader and former premier Giuseppe Conte wrote on Facebook that "the fairy tales of the government and its cheerleaders are collapsing" and demanded that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appear before parliament. PD MEPs Pierfrancesco Maran and Matteo Ricci accused the government of transforming Italy into a "war platform" without public debate, while Nicola Fratoianni of the Greens and Left Alliance said either the government had lied or Rutte had "heatstroke."

500 planes departed from Italy for an illegitimate war in Iran (a) war which Netanyahu dragged Trump into and which has severely damaged the Italian economy. Thank goodness Meloni said 'I neither condemn nor agree with it'. If she had agreed with it, would 5,000 flights have taken off?

NATO walks back the claim

A NATO official later clarified that Rutte had only intended to highlight how allies, including Italy, had implemented existing bilateral agreements on military bases and overflights. The Italian defence ministry added that the secretary general's words had given rise to "erroneous interpretations" and that the NATO clarification confirmed Rutte was not referring to "kinetic flights or flights used in attack operations against Iran."

The Secretary General underlined how the Allies, including Italy, implemented the existing bilateral agreements on military bases and overflights.

Trump and the G7 backdrop

The episode unfolded days after US President Donald Trump publicly criticised European NATO members for insufficient help during the Iran war and singled out Meloni, claiming she had begged for a photo at the G7 summit. Meloni denied the assertion while insisting Italy's relationship with Washington remained strong. Conte, echoing other opponents, tied the domestic row to that broader US pressure, arguing the government had quietly acquiesced despite its sovereignist rhetoric.