Italy's Meloni refuses to budge on Iran, bases and defence spending after cool NATO summit with Trump

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni used her closing press conference at the NATO summit in Ankara on 8 July to delineate red lines that Rome will not cross, despite renewed pressure from the United States. Her stance covered three contentious areas: the use of Italian-based American installations for strikes on Iran, the trajectory of defence spending, and the public chill in her once-warm relationship with Donald Trump.

Strained relationship with Trump

The encounter between Meloni and Trump was frosty. The two leaders shared a dinner table in Ankara's presidential palace but exchanged only a few formal words. Meloni acknowledged that she had believed her ideological closeness with Trump (on issues like immigration and opposition to 'woke' culture) would make bilateral relations easier. She stressed, however, that she would not revise her strategy.

I do not repent of anything I have done. I made a political investment out of conviction for Western unity, a strategy put in place before Donald Trump. Things are not going as I might have hoped, but I do not change my mind about what the Italian national interest is.

Defence spending and bases

Italy currently allocates 2.8% of GDP to defence. Under the commitment pushed by Washington at the previous NATO meeting in The Hague, allies agreed to reach 5% by 2035. Meloni said Italy would respect those pledges but on its own terms.

We want to clearly respect the commitments but we also want to do it in a sustainable way, meaning we decide our own times and priorities. Defence investments must remain in Italy, not become a blank cheque for abroad.

She also made clear that her government was not reconsidering its position on the use of US bases on Italian soil for operations against Iran.

Iran and the use of American bases

Italy has maintained a consistent line since the start of the conflict with Iran: it will not take part in strikes. Meloni confirmed this at the summit and expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of the military path.

On the use of bases we have had a very clear line from the beginning of the conflict in Iran and that line we maintain: we are not participating and will not participate in the attacks. The American military option in this case has not produced such concrete results.

She argued that the priority should remain on negotiation.

Broader NATO context

During the closed-door sessions, Meloni circulated a dossier and map prepared by Italian intelligence, highlighting areas where Russia and China extract most of the rare earth metals essential for weapons and microchips. She used it to urge allies to address strategic dependencies. The summit also saw frank discussions about 'burden shifting', the transfer of security responsibilities from the US to Europe as Washington presses for higher European military budgets.

The Ankara summit left the transatlantic bond intact but the Italian prime minister insisted her compass remains 'the defence of the national interest'.