State of the Union: The Italian prime minister had withdrawn Italy from a defense agreement with Israel
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump openly criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, expressing his surprise over her decision to decline participation in joint U.S. and Israeli military actions targeting Iran.
“I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” Trump told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. “She’s unacceptable because she doesn’t mind that Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance.”
Trump mentioned that he and Meloni had not communicated “in a long time” and accused her of failing to support NATO’s initiatives in the Strait of Hormuz, once again calling the alliance a “paper tiger.”
Earlier that day, Meloni announced the suspension of Italy’s defense collaboration agreement with Israel, referring to “the current situation.” Israel characterized the agreement as a “memorandum of understanding from many years ago that has never contained any substantive content.”
In addition, she had condemned Trump for his dispute with the pope, stating on Monday, “I find President Trump’s words toward the Holy Father unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal that he calls for peace and condemns every form of war.”
Original article: www.theamericanconservative.com
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