Eurotopics.net

US President Donald Trump has hit back at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after she described his tirade against Pope Leo XIV as "unacceptable". Trump replied saying: "She is the one who is unacceptable, because she doesn't care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy up in two minutes if it had the chance!"

For the first time in history, a US president has verbally attacked the Pope. In a lengthy social media post Donald Trump said the Pontiff was "terrible for foreign policy" and was damaging the Catholic Church. Leo XIV has repeatedly criticised Trump's policies, from migration policy to the war in Iran, albeit indirectly. In response to Trump's tirade, the pope said he was proclaiming the message of the Gospel.

At the last moment, Tehran and Washington have agreed on a two-week ceasefire. Donald Trump continued to ramp up his threats as the US ultimatum deadline loomed, announcing that 'an entire civilisation will die' if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The initial reaction in the European press is one of shock rather than relief.

US Vice President JD Vance has visited Budapest ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary election and openly endorsed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He also accused the EU of "interfering in the election".