A sharp public confrontation between US President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV escalated this week, as Trump also turned on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — long one of his closest European allies — over their shared reluctance to endorse his military campaign against Iran.
On Tuesday night, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to demand that "someone please tell Pope Leo" that Iran had "killed at least 42,000 innocent protesters" and that it was "absolutely unacceptable" for Iran to possess a nuclear bomb. The outburst followed a day in which Pope Leo — the first American-born pontiff in history — warned in a Vatican letter about the risk of democracies sliding into what he called "majoritarian tyranny," arguing that democratic societies remain healthy only when rooted in moral values. The pope had earlier condemned the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, saying God rejects the prayers of those who launch wars with "hands full of blood," and described Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation as unacceptable. On Sunday, Trump had already called the pope "weak" and "terrible" on foreign policy. Vice President JD Vance, himself a Catholic, also pushed back, citing World War Two as evidence that God had stood with American forces — suggesting the pope was wrong to imply that those who wage war cannot be on God's side.
In a separate interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera published Tuesday, Trump delivered a stinging rebuke to Meloni, saying he was "shocked at her" and that he had thought she had courage, "but I was wrong." He accused her of not helping NATO, being unwilling to confront Iran's nuclear ambitions, and said immigration was "killing Italy and all of Europe." Trump's attack came after Meloni had called his criticism of the pope "unacceptable." The two leaders have not spoken this month, Trump said. Separately, Italy announced it was suspending a defence agreement with Israel involving military equipment and technology, citing deteriorating relations after Israeli forces allegedly fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy in Lebanon.
The Italian political establishment rallied around Meloni across party lines. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Western unity must be "built on mutual loyalty, respect, and honesty," while centre-left opposition leader Elly Schlein invoked Italy's constitution, which explicitly "repudiates war." Travelling to Algeria on the first leg of an Africa trip, Pope Leo told reporters aboard his plane that he had no "fear" of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out forcefully against the war.
The exchanges highlight a deepening fracture between Washington and some of its traditional partners over the US-Israeli military offensive, which began on 28 February and has killed thousands and displaced millions inside Iran and across the wider region. Iran does not currently possess nuclear weapons; Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never officially confirmed this. The row also underscores the unusual position of Pope Leo, an American citizen whose moral authority is now being deployed, from the Vatican, against the policies of his own country's government.