Italy Warns Against Iran War

The Jerusalem Post and AP report that Italy's foreign minister said Monday that talk about going to war over Iran's nuclear program served no purpose and the international community should instead give sanctions and diplomacy more time to work.

Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said a new war in the region "wouldn't resolve the problem and would only create new tragedies and new dangers."

D'Alema was responding to journalists' questions about comments Sunday by the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who warned that the international community had to be prepared for the possibility of war in the event that Iran obtains atomic weapons.

Italy has good relations with Teheran and remains Iran's leading trading partner in the EU, with a strong presence in its gas market through Italian oil and gas giant Eni SpA