Trump blasts Italian PM over Iran, despite recent praise

The position of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the US  military operation in Iran is unacceptable, US President Donald Trump has said.

"She is the one who is unacceptable, because she does not care whether Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow Italy up in two minutes if it had the chance,” the US leader said, Corriere della Sera reports.

"I'm ⁠shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong," he is quoted as ​saying in the Italian-language article posted online.

The White House declined to comment on the reported ​quotes. Meloni's office also declined to comment.

The criticism marks a dramatic change in tone toward Meloni, who was the only European leader to attend the president's inauguration in 2025.

Only last month he told Corriere della ​Sera that Meloni was "a great leader", but on April 14 he accused her of failing ​to back US efforts over energy security and Iran, and said Italy wanted America "to do the job for ‌her."

By Vafa Guliyeva