• Rome has criticised Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
• Tension with Israel rose after shots near Italian troops.
• Opposition had called for the suspension.
  

ROME: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday her government had suspended a defence cooperation deal with Israel, reflecting frayed ties between previously close allies as the conflicts in the Middle East continue.

Meloni’s right-wing government has been one of Israel’s closest friends in Europe, but in recent weeks it has criticised its attacks on Lebanon, which have killed hundreds and injured thousands.

Israel also fired warning shots last week at Italian troops serving in Lebanon under a UN mandate, causing damage to a vehicle.

“In light of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel,” Meloni said during a visit to Verona, northern Italy.

A source close to the matter, who requested anonymity, said Meloni took the decision on Monday with her foreign and defence ministers, Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.

A spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry declined to comment.

Opposition had called for the suspension

Meloni’s announcement was a surprise in that it marked a shift from a previously cautious stance on Israel. The opposition had asked the government to suspend the agreement.

“We had been calling for this for some time, along with other progressive forces,” the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, said, adding Italy should also support the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Italy’s memorandum with Israel, signed in 2003 by the government of then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, entered into force in 2006 and is subject to automatic renewals every five years unless one of the parties withdraws.

It foresees Israeli-Italian cooperation to “increase their respective defence capabilities” and spans fields including procurement, training and the “import, export and transit of defence and military equipment”.

As diplomatic tensions have risen, Rome last week summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest over the incident involving Italian troops in Lebanon, then on Monday, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned the Italian ambassador “to discuss the situation in Lebanon”.

• Pakistan continues mediation as US and Iran explore options for renewed talks.
• Fresh negotiations likely before ceasefire expiry; venue yet to be finalised.
• Backchannel diplomacy continues after inconclusive US-Iran meeting.

Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad in the coming days, before the current ceasefire expires on April 21, the Associated Press reported, citing two Pakistani officials.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposal would depend on whether the two sides prefer an alternative venue. They added that the earlier negotiations in Islamabad were part of a continuing diplomatic process rather than a one-off engagement.

The initial round of US-Iran talks, hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad, brought together senior delegations in what officials described as intensive, closed-door negotiations aimed at ending weeks of conflict. The trilateral “Islamabad Talks” lasted nearly 21 hours after beginning on the afternoon of April 11, reflecting the complexity and high stakes involved.

Despite extensive discussions, the first round ended without a formal agreement. US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, said the negotiations had failed to produce a deal, though both sides used the platform to outline their positions in detail. Pakistani officials, however, viewed the meeting as a significant step in opening direct channels of communication between Washington and Tehran.

According to Reuters and the Associated Press, engagement between the two sides has continued since the Islamabad meeting, with the possibility of a second round being considered as early as Thursday. Diplomats say Islamabad is again being discussed as a potential venue, although Geneva remains another option.

Sources told Reuters that Pakistan has continued to play a mediating role by relaying messages between Tehran and Washington. A US official said there was ongoing engagement and forward movement towards a possible agreement, while Vance noted in a television interview that “a lot of progress” had been made, adding that the next move rests with Iran.

The Islamabad talks were widely seen as a rare instance of direct engagement facilitated by a third party, with Pakistan coordinating closely with both sides to bring them to the table. Officials familiar with the process said the discussions focused on narrowing differences over ceasefire terms, regional security and broader political concerns.

The conflict, which began on February 28 following coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, has killed more than 2,000 people and destabilised the wider region. Iran responded with retaliatory actions, including disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and targeting US and Israeli interests.

A ceasefire announced on April 8 — brokered with Pakistan’s involvement — has temporarily halted hostilities, but major disagreements remain. Washington has proposed a 15-point framework covering nuclear and missile issues, sanctions relief and maritime security, while Tehran has put forward a 10-point plan seeking broader sanctions removal and greater control over key waterways.

The international community has broadly welcomed Pakistan’s role in hosting the “Islamabad Talks” and facilitating dialogue, with its continued diplomatic efforts seen as key to sustaining momentum towards a potential agreement.

• Trump’s post depicts him in white robe with hand on man’s head.
• Some supporters criticise image, which was later deleted.
• Pope Leo says he has no fear of Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him, before deleting the post on Monday.

The post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, which Trump later said was meant to portray him as a doctor, came amid his escalating feud with Pope Leo, who has criticised the war that started with US-Israeli strikes on Iran as inhumane. Shortly before publishing the image, the president posted a lengthy screed against Pope Leo, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

Leo, the first US-born pope, said in response to Trump’s attacks that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out. In a forceful speech on Monday in Algiers, he denounced “neocolonial” world powers who are violating international law, without specifically referring to the United States.

Sunday’s post, depicting Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on a supine man’s head, could create a rift between Trump and the religious right, whose support was critical to his victory in the 2024 election.

In the painting-like image, Trump holds a glowing orb in one hand and uses his other hand to touch a seemingly sick man on the forehead. The Statue of Liberty, fireworks, a fighter jet and eagles could be seen in the background.

Trump denied on Monday that the image was intended to show him as a Jesus-like figure.

“It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better,” he told reporters at the White House, soon after the post was deleted.

Brendan McMahon, an art history professor at the University of Michigan, found that explanation “highly suspicious” given that the image depicts another figure in scrubs, and because Trump is depicted bathed in a bright light used to signify the divine in countless works of religious art through various centuries. Light also emanates from Trump’s hands in the image.

“It’s borrowing from this long tradition of Christian imagery with Christ as healer,” McMahon said. “Style-wise, it seems like it’s gesturing towards social realism of the interwar period in the States, like WPA murals, imagery about enfranchising working-class Americans.”

Brilyn Hollyhand, who served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, had a sharper critique, writing on X: “This is gross blasphemy. Faith is not a prop. You don’t need to portray yourself as a saviour when your record should speak for itself.”

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and outspoken critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports who has appeared with Trump at rallies, wrote on X she could not understand why Trump posted the image.

“Does he actually think this?” she wrote. “Either way, two things are true. 1) a little humility would serve him well 2) God shall not be mocked.”

Christian voters, including Catholics, have formed a critical part of Trump’s political base. Trump, who does not attend church regularly, won large majorities of Christian voters in the 2024 election, including Catholics, who had previously been closer to a split.

After Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters said it was evidence he had been blessed by God.

Trump feud could test Catholic voter loyalty

David Gibson, the director of the Centre on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, a Catholic school, said it was difficult to understand Trump’s motive in attacking Leo and for posting the image, but that it was also hard to say whether American Catholics would turn against him.

“Will this move cross a red line for them? Will they finally punish Trump and the GOP at the ballot box?” he said. “This is a watershed moment – will Catholics in America choose the pope or the president?”

Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on a Trump-created religious liberty commission, said on X that the president owed Leo an apology for his “inappropriate” statements on social media. But he also praised Trump in the same post for his outreach to Catholics.

Trump told reporters on Monday he had “nothing to apologise for” to the pope.

In recent weeks, Leo has become one of the most prominent critics of the war in Iran, even making an unusual direct appeal to Trump and urging him to find an “off-ramp.”

Trump-Vatican tensions deepen over Iran

Leo has also said that Jesus cannot be used to justify war and that God rejects the prayers of those who start conflicts. 

Those remarks were widely seen as a rebuke to Trump officials like US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who has cited scripture to justify the use of “overwhelming violence” against enemies and likened the rescue of a US airman inside Iran to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Trump also feuded at times with Leo’s predecessor, Francis, who publicly opposed Trump’s deportation campaign as un-Christian. Last year, after Francis’ death, Trump posted an image showing himself as pope, prompting outrage from many Catholics.

But Trump’s attacks on Leo have gone well beyond his swipes at Francis.

“American presidents and American Catholics have disagreed with popes in the past,” Gibson said. “But this is disrespect. Disrespect is way different than disagreement, and that’s the danger for Trump here.”

At least eight members of Trump’s cabinet are Catholic, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Vance, speaking to Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” played down the Jesus-like image, saying Trump made it jokingly. Vance added it was sometimes better for the “Vatican to stick to matters of morality.”