ROME, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran which sparked the latest Middle East crisis were clearly in breach of international law, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.
It was the strongest criticism to date from Italy's right-wing administration, which has sought to establish close ties with U.S. President Donald Trump since he took office last year.
The decision to launch the strikes last weekend "of course fell outside, needless to say, the rules of international law", Crosetto told the lower house of parliament.
He said Italy was being forced to respond to a conflict that the United States and Israel had initiated without warning their allies and partners.
"It is a war that was started without anyone in the world knowing. One in which we, like the rest of the world, find ourselves having to manage (the consequences)," said Crosetto, who is a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party.
Italy has said it will send air defence aid to Gulf countries and naval assets to Cyprus to help them protect against Iranian strikes launched in response to the U.S.-Israeli attacks.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
