Donald Trump lashed out at one of his closest allies on Tuesday, saying Italy’s Giorgia Meloni lacked courage in light of her failure to join the US in attacking Iran.
“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” the US president said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The attack came as Meloni said that her far-right government would suspend the automatic renewal of its defence cooperation agreement with Israel “in light of the current situation”.
“Giorgia Meloni doesn’t want to help us in the war. I’m shocked,” Trump said. “Do people like the fact that your president isn’t doing anything to get the oil [in Iran]? Does she like it? I can’t imagine.”
Tensions between Italy and the US have intensified in recent days after criticism from Trump directed at Pope Leo, marking a dramatic shift in relations between the US president and Meloni, whose political alliance and personal rapport had long been openly embraced – with the Italian leader having said earlier this year that she hoped he would one day receive the Nobel peace prize.
Trump said he did not think the Chicago-born pontiff was “doing a very good job”, while also suggesting he should “stop catering to the radical left”.
Meloni criticised remarks by Trump targeting the pope, calling them “unacceptable”. She added that she would not feel comfortable in a society where religious leaders were expected to follow the direction of political leaders.
“She is the one who is unacceptable,” Trump replied, “because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance.”
Despite the diplomatic strain, Meloni described Washington as a “priority ally”. But, she added, alliances require candour: “When you are friends, particularly strategic allies, you must also have the courage to say when you disagree.”
Italy’s government has entered a turbulent phase in recent days after its defeat in a justice referendum backed by Rome. According to several analysts, the outcome was less a rejection of the proposal itself than a broader vote of no confidence in Meloni’s leadership.
The Italian prime minister has faced mounting criticism, including from segments of her own electorate, over her alignment with Trump and her reluctance to openly condemn Israel’s actions.
The backlash comes at a time of growing unease among the Italian public with the wider implications of the conflict, particularly fears of economic fallout. Concerns have intensified in recent weeks over disruptions to global energy supplies, with the effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz contributing to a sharp rise in diesel prices.
“It’s a repositioning,” Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at Rome’s Luiss University, told Reuters. “She’s afraid that a sizeable portion of the electorate, even among the centre-right, will become highly critical of Trump and Netanyahu and of the effects of this war on Iran on the economy.”
Trump appears to be losing the backing of European allies as the Iran war escalates, exposing fractures within Nato. He previously called the alliance a “paper tiger” after members ignored calls for military support in the strait of Hormuz.
The US president also threatened consequences for countries such as Spain, including troop withdrawals, and accused allies including the UK of not “stepping up”, saying they were “abandoning” the US. He added that those unwilling to support Washington should “go get your own oil”.
Alongside rising tensions with Washington, relations between Italy and Israel also risk deteriorating after Rome’s decision to suspend the memorandum on defence cooperation. In 2003, Italy and Israel began expanding defence ties through arms deals, technology sharing and joint industrial projects.
The memorandum, which has governed defence cooperation between the two countries, was formally signed in April 2016 and provided a framework for military exchanges, technological collaboration and had previously been renewed automatically every five years.
Meloni’s decision marks the first time her government has intervened directly to halt the agreement, despite months of mounting criticism over Israel’s conduct and alleged violations of international law. Until now, the Italian prime minister had limited her response to condemning specific incidents, including Israeli strikes affecting churches and Italian troops serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, while continuing to defend the broader framework of bilateral cooperation.
Italy’s ambassador to Israel, Luca Ferrari, was summoned by Israel’s foreign ministry after Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, during a visit to Beirut, condemned Israeli air raids that have caused thousands of casualties in Lebanon since early March.
Just days earlier, Tajani had himself summoned the Israeli ambassador after an incident in southern Lebanon in which Israeli forces fired warning shots near Italian UN peacekeepers, with one round landing metres from a soldier.
