Trump – Meloni clash escalates over photo claim and Iran policy, plunging Italy – US ties to post‑war low

Trump’s accusations

On Friday, June 20, President Trump told La7 that Meloni “begged” him for a photo at the Evian G7 summit. He repeated the claim on NBC, adding that he would have denied the request but felt sorry for her.

Meloni strikes back

In a sharp response, PM Meloni called the president’s statements “completely invented” and said she was “frankly shocked.” She added that she regretted his lack of resolve toward the West’s enemies while attacking allies, and declared, “I and Italy never beg.”

“President Trump’s claims are totally invented, and I am frankly shocked.”

Fake photo deepens political storm

Opposition MP Marco Pellegrini (M5S), a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee Copasir, shared on social media what appeared to be a selfie of Meloni smiling with a grim Trump at Evian. The image turned out to be a deepfake from a satirical account. Brothers of Italy demanded his immediate resignation, with lawmaker Lucio Malan calling it a potential criminal offence under Italy’s deepfake law. The Quirinale, where President Mattarella had already voiced full solidarity with Meloni, is irritated by the opposition’s failure to rally behind the national interest.

Diplomatic contacts frozen

In the wake of the row, the government is expected to skip the US Independence Day celebration at Villa Taverna in Rome on July 2. Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli said he would not attend, while League senator Claudio Borghi urged avoiding a boycott. Today’s scheduled meeting between Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Miami hangs in the balance, with the Farnesina refusing to confirm attendance. Meloni’s entourage described relations as “at an historic low.”

The Iran factor and transatlantic drift

Analysts trace Trump’s fury to Italy’s refusal to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz during the US‑led campaign against Iran. The conflict ended in a truce that many in Washington view as a humiliation: the Geneva memorandum grants $300 billion to Tehran and left the regime intact, while tanker traffic in the strait collapsed from 120 to fewer than 20 vessels a day. Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute called Trump’s outburst “totally inappropriate” and warned that the administration’s actions are alienating historic allies, strengthening China and Russia.

“The Trump administration has been a disaster for transatlantic relations, and it has similarly strengthened China and Russia while undermining ties with allies for no good reason.”

What’s next

Bilateral dialogue at leader level is severed, but ministerial contacts on specific dossiers may continue. The next multilateral opportunities, a NATO summit in Ankara in July, the UN General Assembly in September, and the G20 in Miami in December, are unlikely to produce a reset without a change of approach from Washington.