Meloni meets Rubio as Iran war strains Italy-US ties
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a moment of unusual tension between his government and President Donald Trump’s administration, stemming largely from the war with Iran.
Rubio is in Italy on a two-day trip aimed at loosening ties with Pope Leo after Trump’s unprecedented attacks on the pope, while also venting Washington’s frustration over Italy’s refusal to support the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Meloni was one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Europe, cultivating close ties with him and presenting himself as a natural bridge between Washington and other EU countries that have no natural political affinity with the Republican US leader.
But that alignment has come under increasing strain in recent months as the Iran war forces him to balance his loyalty to the United States with Italy’s hostility to the war and the rising economic cost of the conflict.
Rubio met with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani before going to the prime minister’s office, and Tajani said that the meetings were positive.
“I believe Europe needs America, Italy needs America, but the United States also needs Europe and Italy,” Tajani told reporters on Friday. he said.
Meloni and Rubio were expected to discuss the situation in the Gulf, as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine, US tariffs on European goods and the outlook for Cuba, which Washington is trying to isolate both diplomatically and economically.
The Italians will also seek an explanation for Rubio’s meetings at the Vatican.
Trump’s latest attacks on Pope Leo crossed a sensitive line in predominantly Catholic Italy, prompting Meloni to call them “unacceptable.”
His criticism resulted in a harsh rebuke from Trump, who said he lacked courage and had let Washington down.
He then threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy.
Meloni said Monday he wouldn’t support such a move but acknowledged the decision was “not up to me.”
In April, Italy refused to allow US aircraft to use Sigonella air base in Sicily for combat operations linked to the Iran conflict.
Italian officials said Washington had not received prior permission from Rome for the use of the site.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, a close ally of Meloni, later warned that the Iran war put US global leadership at risk and said he feared the “madness” of nuclear escalation.
Meloni’s ties to Trump could pose a potential liability to voters ahead of next year’s national election, pollsters say.
