Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Friday he had asked Israel to avoid an escalation after it attacked Iranian nuclear targets earlier in the day in an operation that it said will last days.

“I do not believe that the Israeli attacks are over”, Tajani, who is also deputy premier told Mattino 5, explaining that he spoke with the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

“I asked to avoid an escalation” with Iran and “reaffirmed the friendship with the Israeli people but I reiterated the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We ask Israel, having effectively won the war with Hamas, to spare the civilian population”, said Tajani, who will also speak with his Iranian counterpart and with the Foreign Minister of Oman, the mediating country on the nuclear dossier.

Tajani, who chaired a foreign ministry crisis unity meeting on Italian citizens in the Gulf region, said no Italians were involved either in Israel or Iran.

“There were no problems for our fellow citizens, neither in Iran nor in Israel.

There were explosions even near the residence of our ambassador (in Iran, ed.).

The situation is very tense”, said the centre-right post Berlusconi Forza Italia (FI) leader.

He added: “Our position is one of dialogue.

“We hope that the negotiations between Israel and Iran can resume as soon as possible.

“We know that the situation is very complicated but there is no other solution than a diplomatic one.

“We hope that the fighting can stop as soon as possible, actions and reactions are dangerous, the situation in the area risks exploding”.