ITALY PERSPECTIVE

Rome treats the night of June 3 as a diplomatic file. La Repubblica's Gianluca Di Feo runs the timeline in the headline: 'rockets against Kuwait and Bahrain after the American attack on Qeshm Island'. The Italian angle is causal — who struck first, who replied, why. Adnkronos pushes the reconstruction further: the scenario starts with a US Hellfire strike on a Botswanan-flagged tanker headed for Iran's Kharg oil terminal. CENTCOM says the ship was violating the US-imposed blockade and was 'neutralized'. Tehran retaliates by firing missiles at the Liberian-flagged cargo 'Panaya', warning that 'any threat to the security of Hormuz will cost dearly'. Then the cascade: Iranian missiles on the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, US retaliation on Qeshm Island, Iranian retaliation on Kuwait's civilian terminal. Adnkronos calls this exchange 'one of the most serious since the April ceasefire took effect'. Italian coverage distinguishes itself from other European voices by its will to link the strikes mechanically — Rome reads the Kuwait night as a chain of actions and reactions, not as an isolated act. No Italian paper mentions the Iranian Patriot theory. None covers the expulsion of diplomats within 24 hours either. Italy watches Kuwait as a diplomatic file being drafted.