"Why should we attack Italy? We love the Italian people, football, food. We love Rome, Rimini, Pisa, Milan, Naples, Sicily, and everything in between." A response from Iranian officials arrives regarding statements made by American President Donald Trump in Corriere della Sera, where he expressed that Iran has nuclear weapons that could put Italy at risk within two minutes. The reaction, cited by the renowned Italian newspaper itself, comes from the Iranian embassy in Thailand through a post on platform X, emphasizing admiration for Italy—an approach that, according to Corriere, could have another interpretation: The strategy the ayatollahs are using after the failure of talks in Islamabad might be feeding divisions within the ranks of a fragile European Union, with its uncertainties, indecisions, and fears. Trump earlier harshly criticized Prime Minister Meloni, one of his key European allies, for her reluctance to join the fight against Iran, and also clashed with her regarding Pope Leo XIV. "I am shocked by her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," he said in the interview with Corriere della Sera. The interview was published a day after Meloni condemned Trump's criticisms of the Pope as "unacceptable," following repeated calls from the Holy Father to end U.S. intervention in Iran. Meloni, Italy's conservative leader since October 2022, has been one of Trump's closest allies in Europe and often seeks to act as a mediator between different American and European perspectives.