(BSS/AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday said her current priority was to restrain inflationary pressures on prices, especially energy, given the impact from the US-Israeli war against Iran.

In a press conference, the far-right leader was asked whether measures to reduce the impact of price rises from the Mideast war might cut into planned spending on defence.

"Without shirking my responsibilities on the issue of defence... I now have to give priority to what is happening at the economic level," said Meloni, adding that defence spending remained an "absolute priority".

"In the current context of international crisis we`re facing, the issue of keeping prices and energy under control, of preventing an inflationary impact that clearly crushes GDP growth, has to be considered a step forward," she said.