Trump Escalates Rift With Italy's Meloni Over Iran War, Pope and Access to Sicily Air Base
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this month after Rome declined to support a U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran and refused authorization for U.S. bombers to use a key air base in Sicily. In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera and remarks on Fox News, Trump said he had overestimated Meloni's "courage," faulted her for siding with the pope rather than backing the war, and warned that "anybody that turned us down to helping with this Iran situation, we do not have the same relationship," adding that the two leaders "have not spoken in a long time." Meloni publicly called Trump's attack on the pope "unacceptable," and Italian officials including Minister Adolfo Urso sought to downplay long-term damage to the bilateral alliance even as the rift became openly visible.