Bahrain restricts Shiite holy day commemorations amid Iran war fallout

Italy sought to distance itself from the US war against Iran, saying American aircraft used bases on Italian soil only for “technical and logistical, non-kinetic” support and not for direct combat operations.

The clarification came after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox News that 500 US planes had taken off from American bases in Italy to support Operation Epic Fury, Washington’s name for the war it launched alongside Israel against Iran.

Rome has repeatedly said it did not authorize Italian territory to be used for direct military action against Iran, a distinction that has become politically sensitive as European governments face questions over how far they helped the US campaign.

“As already clarified in parliament, the government authorized exclusively technical and logistical, non-kinetic activities,” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said, adding that Italy had refused requests that went beyond those limits.

Crosetto said Rutte, who he said had “nothing to do with Operation Epic Fury,” had sent a “totally misleading message” by blurring the line between authorized support flights and combat-related operations.

A NATO official said Rutte had only referred to allies, including Italy, carrying out existing bilateral agreements on basing and overflights.

The dispute adds to tension between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government and President Donald Trump after Rome refused to support the US military campaign against Iran. Italy hosts about 120 US military facilities, including the Sigonella naval air station in Sicily and Aviano air base in northern Italy.

Opposition leaders demanded new explanations from the government, with former prime minister Giuseppe Conte calling for Meloni to clarify the matter in parliament.

Pakistan’s prime minister and Qatar’s premier discussed the US-Iran memorandum and said momentum should continue after the first technical-level talks in Bürgenstock, according to a statement from Islamabad.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received a phone call from Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, his office said.

The statement said the two leaders discussed “the successful diplomatic efforts that led to the historic signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran.”

“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the first round of technical-level talks held in Bürgenstock and stated that positive momentum must continue so that negotiations could be successful,” it said.

A member of Iran’s parliament’s presiding board said Tehran’s nuclear technology is not negotiable and warned that any talks over nuclear knowledge or technology would violate Iran’s strategic action law unless approved by parliament.

Alireza Salimi said negotiations held “under the shadow of threat” amounted to imposition rather than diplomacy.

“Negotiation under the shadow of threat is not negotiation, but imposition,” Salimi said. “We will in no way accept such negotiations and will not submit to any threat.”

He added that red lines set by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei must be observed “case by case” in the talks.

A spokesman for Iran’s parliament’s National Security Committee said Tehran would not be swayed by regional pressure over the Strait of Hormuz, as disputes continue over how the waterway should be managed under the US-Iran memorandum.

Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X that Iran respected its regional friends but knew they fear America.

“The Islamic Republic did not conquer the Strait of Hormuz through negotiation, so it would now give it up through negotiation,” Rezaei said.

He added that Iran “is not influenced by others.”

Iran has released four Ukrainian sailors detained in the Strait of Hormuz in April, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said, weeks after the waterway became a central pressure point in Tehran’s conflict with the United States and Israel.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said the four Ukrainians were crew members aboard the Greek-owned container ship Epimonidas, one of several vessels detained by the IRGC in the Strait of Hormuz in April.

“We are pleased to report that these efforts have yielded a positive result. Four of our citizens have already left Iran. They are now safe with their families,” Tykhyi told reporters.

He said the sailors were in satisfactory health and thanked diplomats from partner countries, the shipowner and others involved in securing their release.