Italy 'ready for any event' in Middle East crisis, says foreign minister Tajani

The country's foreign ministry has warned Italians still in Lebanon that "those who can should return".

Transcript

00:00There are 4,000 Italians living in Lebanon and our priority is to protect both them and

00:07our troops deployed to the country.

00:09We are ready for any event should the situation deteriorate.

00:13That's the message given on Tuesday by Italy's Foreign Secretary Antonio Tajani in a parliamentary

00:18briefing.

00:19The Italian government said Tajani is closely monitoring the situation while urging regional

00:23leaders asking them for a de-escalation of tensions.

00:27Last Sunday, under the Italian Presidency, the minister called a G7 meeting to discuss

00:31the ongoing crisis.

00:33The group of seven expressed their support for US President Joe Biden's plan and the

00:37need for a ceasefire in Gaza.

00:39We have rarely had such a tense situation.

00:42If we think that this morning Russia started to deliver weapons to Iran, it shows that

00:48there is an opposite front to ours.

00:50The Western Front, which aims to protect the interests of international law, to protect

00:57the aggressors and to spread the principles of peace and democracy, the Western Front

01:03must trust its actors so that if someone is distracted by something else, there can be

01:09other actors who can bring peace.

01:12From this point of view, there is a lot of confidence in the work that the Meloni government

01:15is doing at the national, European and international level.

01:20Meanwhile, opposition parties have attacked Israel and the Italian government for failing

01:24to recognize the Palestinian state.

01:50Recent developments, both in Lebanon and in Iran, seem to have stalled ceasefire talks,

01:57which are crucial to easing tensions.

02:00Neither Israel nor Iran is looking for an all-out war, although they seem unlikely to

02:04listen to calls for restraint.

02:07Giorgia Orlandi for Euronews in Rome.