Italy's political landscape has united in defence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after US President Donald Trump criticised her, accusing her of lacking courage for not joining the US in attacking Iran. The opposition leader, Elly Schlein, backed Meloni for expressing solidarity with Pope Leo XIV after Trump's remarks against the pontiff.
In a parliamentary session, Schlein received applause as she stated: “Listen, Trump, even as political opponents, we Italians will not accept any attacks against our country, especially from your bad mouth. No foreign head of state can allow himself to attack or threaten or show disrespect to our country and our government.”
The dispute began when Trump told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: “I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” referring to Meloni. He added: “Giorgia Meloni doesn’t want to help us in the war. Do people like the fact that your president isn’t doing anything to get the oil [in Iran]?”
Tensions escalated after Italy announced it would not renew its defence agreement with Israel, a departure from its previous stance as one of Israel's closest European allies. Italy also summoned the Israeli ambassador following an incident involving Israeli forces firing at a UN peacekeeper convoy. Israel responded by summoning Italy's ambassador over comments by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Meloni criticised Trump's attacks on the Pope, calling them “unacceptable”. She said: “The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and condemn all forms of war.” Trump retorted that Meloni “doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes”. Despite the rift, Meloni described Washington as a “priority ally” but stressed the need for courage to disagree.
