Editorial
The European mission Aspides will be launched by the Foreign Affairs Council on February 19th, in the meantime the frigate of the Italian Navy "Martinengo"is about to take command, as a flag unit, of the EU anti-piracy mission"Atalanta”. Italy will assume tactical command of the anti-Houthi Aspides mission: in these hours at the Defense General Staff they are deciding the name of the admiral who will be given the delicate task of defending the community shipping in the Red Sea, which has been targeted for days by the Yemeni rebel group with drones and rockets, when in transit through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab el Mandeb.
The threat from the Houthis towards our country is immediate, responsible for putting "jeopardize the safety of its military and commercial vessels“. The Yemeni rebels' claims come via the deputy head of the Yemeni Media Authority Ansaar Allah (Houthis) Nasr al-Din Amer"We will strike the ships that attack our country – he says interviewed by AdnKronos – or that hinder the decision to prevent Israeli ships from crossing the Red Sea“. According to Amer, one of the media faces of the armed group that controls large areas of Yemen, leading the "mission that intends to intercept Yemeni missiles that target Israeli ships or those headed for the Jewish state constitutes a danger for Italy and leads it to direct conflict with our country".
The Italian Ministry of Defense, yesterday evening, returned the threats to the sender, describing them as "part of their hybrid warfare” and an attempt to “undermine cohesion and that of the European Union".
The Defense claims, in fact, that "attack commercial ships of nations unrelated to what is happening in Gaza, spread false information, allow the free passage of ships of the Russian Federation and China but not others, and threaten Italy for assuming tactical command of the Aspides operation , whose sole purpose is the defense of our ships and free navigation, are attempts to undermine our cohesion and that of the European Union."
“The Houthis' attempt”, continued the note from the Ministry of Defense led by Guido Crosetto, “is to convince us that silently accepting the blackmail of terrorism and looking elsewhere instead of defending security and free navigation is the right thing and more convenient to do." “The European Union and, with it, Italy”, concluded the note, “instead claim the right and duty to intervene in defense of security, the free movement of goods, their own economies and international law. If they were truly interested in the Palestinian people, they would have appreciated the Italian humanitarian intervention, which was one of the most significant and immediate in support of the Palestinian people." The reference to the transfer of 100 Palestinian children to Italy, together with their families, to receive adequate medical care in the best pediatric hospitals is clear. Even the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, reiterated Italy's commitment, declaring: “We don't let ourselves be intimidated. We will defend our ships because we are a country where 40% of our GDP depends on exports."
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