Italian PM Meloni urges normal US‑Italy ties after Trump row

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was taken aback by recent remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump and called for Italy‑United States relations to return to “normal conditions.” Speaking at an event hosted by the Italian newspaper La Verità, she told reporters that the dispute “does not only concern Italy” and that the bilateral front “must be widened.”

Meloni added that she remains “optimistic” about the ongoing U.S.–Iran negotiations but warned that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons. She said Italy is ready to assist diplomatically and to take part in a mission to clear naval mines from the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that free navigation should be restored “without paying tolls to the Tehran regime."

She also rejected Trump’s claim that she had begged him for a photo after the G7 summit, describing his comments as “fabricated” and emphasizing that Italy will not “feed the tension.”