"Gulf countries caught up in the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States have asked Italy for air defence systems", Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Monday.

Speaking before a parliamentary committee, Crosetto said that the country urgently wanted to boost their air defence capacities, including with Italy's SAMP/T system.

Crosetto made the comment after just having returned to Rome on Monday, having been stranded in Dubai since flights were suspended due to the Israel-US strikes on Iran.