Capri (Italy) – US informed Group of Seven US foreign ministers on Friday received “last-minute” information from Israel about a drone operation in Iran, but it was not involved in the apparent attack, officials said.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of ministers of industrialized nations, said the United States presented the information at a session on Friday morning that was changed at the last minute to address the suspected attack.
Early Friday, Iran Air defenses launched From a major air base and nuclear site near the city of Isfahan in central Iran after drones were spotted. This was part of an apparent Israeli attack in response to the Tehran attack An unprecedented attack with drones and missiles In the country last weekend.
Tajani said the United States informed G7 ministers that Israel “informed it at the last minute” about the drones. “But there was no participation in the attack by the United States, it was just information.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken refused to comment on this assertion, but stressed that the United States did not participate in any attack and that it was committed to working to “stop the escalation” in the region.
“I will not talk about that except to say that the United States did not participate in any offensive operations,” Blinken said.
When asked to describe the current US-Israeli relationship, Blinken noted that Israel makes its own decisions and that the United States is committed to its security.
“We are committed to helping Israel defend itself and participating in its defense when necessary, as you saw just a few days ago,” Blinken said, referring to action taken by the United States and its allies to help Israel repel the Iranian drone and missile attack over the weekend.
“Once again, Israel is making its own decisions, but we have an obligation to defend it,” Blinken said.
Tajani said the G7 partners all exchanged information on Friday about what they know about what happened in Iran. He said that he spoke by phone with the Italian embassies in Tel Aviv and Tehran and made sure that the Italians living in Isfahan were fine.
“There were no deaths or injuries,” Tajani said. “There is a group of Italians who live in the city where the drones arrived and they are all without problems. They say that life has resumed regularly, and Iranian airspace has been reopened.”
He added: “The climate seems to be better today than overnight.”
In a statement following the three-day meeting, the ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States urged the parties to “prevent further escalation.”
The statement pledged to support Israel's security and condemned “in the strongest terms” what the foreign ministers described as “Iran's unprecedented attack against Israel on April 13 and 14, which Israel defeated with the help of its partners,” as well as the seizure of Israeli territory. The Portuguese-flagged ship MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We stand ready to adopt further sanctions or take other measures, now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives,” the document said.
The group also warned Iran against transferring ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia.
On the The war in GazaThe group called on Hamas to release the hostages and reminded Israel to respect international and humanitarian law.
He added that the G7 countries remained opposed to “a large-scale military operation in Rafah that would have catastrophic consequences for the civilian population,” and called for increased aid flows to Gaza.
Tajani said in the closing press conference: “The G7 has worked and will work to stop the escalation.” He said that this would include calming tensions, followed by a ceasefire, freeing the hostages, and providing aid to the Palestinian people.
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Colleen Barry contributed in Soavi, Italy.
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