WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, insisting that she asked “over and over” for a photo with him at the recent Group of Seven summit and criticizing what he said was Italy’s lack of cooperation during the Iran war.
The remarks deepen the spat that began this week with the Republican president’s interview with an Italian broadcaster, during which Trump claimed Meloni “begged” for the photo during the G7 meeting in France. Meloni has called that “completely fabricated.” The dustup led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government lined up in her defense.
“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.
He continued: “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).”
Meloni soon responded, saying in a statement to Trump that “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.”
“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” Meloni said in a post on Instagram. She added that "in any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
Trump's initial comments were aired Friday on the La7 network. A correspondent had asked the president about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and made the claim about the photo. Trump said he was not obliged to take the picture with her but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster put a dubbed version of the conversation online, but not the original English audio.
In his post, Trump also complained that Meloni would not allow the U.S. to use Italy’s landing strips or runways during the Iran war even though the U.S. is a leader in defense spending among NATO allies. That is a long-standing complaint about the military alliance and one that Trump raised before his White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the NATO summit in Turkey next month.
Italy, a key logistics hub for the U.S., declined in March to allow American bombers headed for the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval. It was a decision reflecting constitutional constraints and strong domestic opposition to the war. Meloni has insisted that any use of Italian bases for offensive operations would require parliamentary backing.
Trump vented his frustration about Meloni and on Saturday claimed that she “wants to be friends again” in light of the initial deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.
Associated Press writer Silvia Stellacci in Rome contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, second left, after a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
U.S. President Donald Trump, center, speaks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, right, at a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Iran dealt two quick blows to the interim agreement with the United States on Saturday, angered by Israel's continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and also announcing that while its negotiators were going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there.
Key mediator Pakistan, meanwhile, said the technical-level talks will begin on Sunday in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, with Qatari mediators also participating.
In Tehran's first salvo, Iran’s joint military command said the strait had been closed, citing the Israeli attacks and U.S. “bad faith” and “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. Its statement on state television warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”
Shortly after that, the state broadcaster announced that Iran’s negotiating team was heading to Switzerland “in the coming minutes,” a trip that had been originally planned for Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, however, signaled that little might happen until Iran feels the U.S. is living up to the deal.
“This trip is therefore about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,” he said, adding that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin only once key commitments are upheld. If they are not, he said, “then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Saturday that the top U.S. negotiators — Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff — were already in Switzerland and have been working through technical details of the anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland “sometime the next couple of days” but acknowledged that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.”
Meanwhile, the global economy braced for more uncertainty. Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that has left plenty of questions unanswered.
Earlier Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement there. Seven people remained trapped under the rubble after the strikes hit the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.
The death toll in the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah has now surpassed 4,000, Lebanon’s health ministry later announced.
Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight. The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations. Israel's army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah command centers.
On Friday, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities.
On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times Friday night. A statement by the group's military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops.
Hezbollah and Israel went to war two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.
The interim U.S.-Iran agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed as the war unfolded — cutting off the global economy from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal also envisages the relaunch of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, a core issue in the war.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country's sovereignty to be respected.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.
A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.
A strike on the village of Barish killed four members of a family, parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house, and in the villages of Doueir and Kfar Rumman, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in the villages of Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour.
Plumes of smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre. Residents there told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days but the sounds of Israeli planes reminded them the war is not over.
Many doubted a ceasefire — even if agreed on — would hold.
“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said Hussein Khoshman, a Tyre resident.
Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment on ceasefire efforts. On Friday, Netanyahu said that, on his orders, the Israeli army had “struck powerfully” 150 Hezbollah targets, killing dozens of militants.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.
Mroue reported from Beirut and Munir from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jamey Keaten in Zurich, Switzerland, contributed to this report.
Buildings damaged by Israeli strikes are seen through shattered glass from the Jabal Amel Hospital in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
