Israeli newspaper Haaretz later confirmed The Guardian’s report, adding that Paragon had terminated its deal with two Italian government agencies — a law enforcement agency and an intelligence agency — and disconnected their access to its spyware product called Graphite, according to the paper’s anonymous sources.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office issued a statement denying it had spied on its own citizens, and saying it had referred the matter to the National Cybersecurity Agency.

Italy faced pressure on Friday to explain its relationship with Israeli spyware maker Paragon following reports that the company had cut ties with Rome over allegations that the government had used its technology to hack the phones of critics instead of criminals.