Italy suspends defense deal with Israel amid Mideast conflicts

The Italian government announced on Tuesday that it is suspending the automatic renewal of its defense deal with Israel amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. 

“The government, considering the situation we are experiencing, has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated during a briefing with media representatives in the city of Verona. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry downplayed the Italian leader’s announcement by stressing that Israel has “no security agreement with Italy.”

“We have a memorandum of understanding from many years ago that never contained any substantive content,” the foreign ministry in Jerusalem told Times of Israel. “This will not affect Israel’s security."

However, Meloni’s announcement is noteworthy because her conservative government has until recently been one of Israel’s strongest allies in the European Union. In July 2025, Meloni argued that Italy would not recognize the “State of Palestine” before such entity is an established fact in the Middle East. 

“I am very much in favor of the State of Palestine, but I am not in favor of recognizing it prior to establishing it,” Meloni said , at a time when France, the UK, and other Western nations favored unilateral recognition of “Palestine,” despite objections from Israel that such a move would constitute a de facto reward for the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre of Israeli civilians.

Meloni is facing growing internal pressure from left-wing politicians and many anti-Israel protesters to cool Italy’s diplomatic relations with Israel. In February, anti-Israel protesters in Milan called for the Jewish state’s expulsion from the Winter Olympic Games that were held in Italy. Last September, Italy faced large nationwide anti-Israel protests with anti-Israel activists accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza.

Israel has strongly rejected the accusation, emphasizing that Israeli forces seek to minimize civilian casualties while fighting against Hamas terrorists who use civilians as human shields, a war crime under international law. 

Meloni’s recent statement is likely linked to her efforts to placate growing anti-Israel sentiment in Italy. She also addressed other international developments, calling for a diplomatic solution to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of the world’s crude oil supply passes. She further called for a solution to the global fertilizer deficit resulting from the Iran war.

Meloni also addressed the issue of European restrictions on Russian gas as a political means to pressure Moscow to end the war against Ukraine. 

“We must not forget that the economic pressure we have exerted on Russia in recent years is the most effective weapon we have to build peace,” she argued, adding hope that some diplomatic progress could be reached by the beginning of next year. 

Meloni, who has been a strong supporter of the U.S., blasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of Pope Leo, which she termed “unacceptable.” 

“When you are friends and allies, particularly strategic ones, you must also have the courage to say when you disagree,” she stated while stressing that the U.S. remains a strategic ally.