Is there a risk of armed conflict if European mediation fails?
A. There is cohesion within the European Union in requesting the maximum transparency by Teheran regarding its exclusively civilian use of nuclear power if it wishes to play a role in the Middle East deriving from objective reasons, not only based on the fact that it is a regional power but also on the fact that it has a major influence throughout the entire Shia area. It is also in the international community’s interests not to have an isolated Teheran. If we want to resolve issues such as the Iraqi situation, we must hope for the collaboration of Teheran in stabilising the region. The more Teheran asks to be considered an interlocutor by the international community the more it must sense its responsibility to display stabilising, and not destabilising, behaviour. The international community must speak out in a single voice on this issue. No one is thinking of armed conflict with Iran. Q. Let’s go on to Iraq. Why precisely now does the Italian government seem to be taking its distance
