Italy Suspends Automatic Renewal of Defense Cooperation Agreement with Israel

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that her government had decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense cooperation agreement with Israel, citing "the current situation" in the Middle East. Meloni made the announcement on the sidelines of the Vinitaly wine fair in Verona, marking a significant shift for a government long regarded as one of Israel's closest allies in Europe. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto formalized the decision by sending an official letter to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz. The move was taken jointly by Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Crosetto, and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, according to Reuters, which cited an anonymous defense ministry source. The memorandum of understanding had been ratified in 2005, entered into force on April 13, 2016, and was set for another automatic renewal this month.

A decade-old pact covering arms, research, and training The suspended agreement established a framework for defense cooperation between Italy and Israel across several areas, including the exchange of military equipment, technological research within the armed forces, and joint military training. A defense ministry source told Reuters that one direct consequence of the suspension is that Italy will no longer cooperate with Israel on military training. The New York Times reported that the accord also covered defense industry and procurement policy, importing and exporting military equipment, and the exchange of technical data. The agreement's eleven articles set out principles for cooperation including meetings of defense ministers, joint exercises, exchange of information, and encouragement of respective defense industries in research, development, and production. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said he agreed with the suspension but, when pressed for specifics, told reporters he did not know the reasons behind the decision, according to El Mundo.

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Israel dismisses the move, Trump rebukes Meloni Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar played down the significance of the suspension, arguing the agreement had never carried practical weight. „There isn't even an agreement. There is a memorandum of understandings that was never materialized or had any substantive content. Israel's security will not be impacted.” — Gideon Saar via The New York Times A spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry similarly told Deutsche Welle that "we do not have a security agreement with Italy, but only a memorandum that has never had concrete content," according to the Israel-based news portal ynet, as cited by Deutsche Welle. The reaction from Washington was sharper. Speaking to Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had been "very shocked" by Meloni's decision and criticized her for "letting America do all the work" for Italy, which he said "gets its oil from Iran." El Mundo reported Trump as saying: „I thought she had courage, I was wrong.” — Donald Trump via El Mundo The criticism from Trump marked a notable public rift between two leaders who had previously maintained close political ties.

Ties fraying over Lebanon strikes and diplomatic confrontations The suspension came against a backdrop of mounting Italian frustration with Israeli military operations in Lebanon, where Italian troops serve under a United Nations mandate. Reuters reported that Meloni's government had in recent weeks criticized Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including incidents affecting Italian peacekeeping personnel. Foreign Minister Tajani visited Lebanon on Monday, where he posted on social media that the trip was intended to show Italy's "solidarity" with Lebanon "following the unacceptable attacks by Israel against the civilian population," according to the New York Times. Israel's foreign ministry responded by summoning Italy's ambassador, Luca Ferrari, in Tel Aviv to protest Tajani's comments, while Tajani had himself summoned Israel's ambassador to Italy the previous week to condemn the bombings and a separate incident in which Israeli soldiers fired warning shots at an Italian convoy. Opposition lawmaker Marco Grimaldi described the suspension as "a victory" for those who had protested Israel's military offensive in Gaza, the New York Times reported, noting that opposition parties had pressured the government for over a year to act. Italy ratified the defense cooperation memorandum with Israel in 2005, and the agreement entered into force in April 2016. Meloni's right-wing government, in office since October 2022, had previously been considered among Israel's firmest European supporters. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Rome in March 2023, Meloni described Israel as a "friend and key partner of Italy, in the Middle East and at global level," according to the New York Times.