by InTrieste
U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up criticism of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after Rome declined to support aspects of U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, highlighting growing tensions between the two former political allies.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump referenced a report published in The Guardian claiming that Italy had refused permission for U.S. military aircraft carrying weapons to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily. “Italy wasn’t there for us, we won’t be there for them!” he wrote.
Italian officials last month declined a request for U.S. bombers to land at Sigonella. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the decision was based on procedural grounds, noting that the request had not followed standard authorisation channels and had been communicated while the aircraft were already in flight. Prime Minister Meloni has also said Italy will not take part in the conflict.
The exchange marks the latest in a series of public remarks from Trump directed at Italy’s position on the Iran conflict and at Meloni personally. Earlier comments included criticism of Meloni’s response to his attacks on Pope Leo XIV, which prompted condemnation in Italy.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Trump said he was “shocked” by Meloni’s stance. “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he said.
Trump has also argued that Italy has been insufficiently attentive to what he describes as the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme, claiming in one interview that Iran “would blow up Italy in two minutes” if it acquired nuclear weapons. He added that Italy was “not the same country” and that Meloni was “not the same person” he had previously known.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump suggested that countries unwilling to support the U.S. position on Iran could see a change in bilateral relations, and pointed to Italy’s reliance on energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Italian government has not directly responded to Trump’s most recent personal remarks. However, Meloni has previously said, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that a divided Western alliance would primarily benefit Moscow.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has defended the government’s position, describing Italy as a “staunch supporter of Western unity” and a “steadfast ally of the United States,” while emphasising that cooperation must be based on “mutual loyalty, respect, and honesty.”
Meloni and Trump previously maintained a notably close political relationship. She was the only European Union leader invited to Trump’s second inauguration. In recent months, however, contacts between the two appear to have become less frequent. Asked by Corriere della Sera whether they had recently spoken, Trump replied: “No, not in a long time.”
