Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is aiming to do some damage control when she meets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday amid rising tensions between Italy and the United States.

Once a close ally, Italy is now locked in a diplomatic spat with Washington over its role in the Strait of Hormuz, a rift further deepened by the US president’s recent attacks on the Pope.

US President Donald Trump has said he “probably will” withdraw troops from Italy and Spain due to their stance on the US-Israeli war in Iran. The US president recently decided to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, while warning that Italy could be next.

With its 13,000 US troops – about a third of the number deployed in Germany – Italy plays a central role in the American presence on the continent, said Alessandro Marrone, head of the defence programme at the Italian think-tank Istituto Affari Internazionali. That role is central to both NATO deterrence on the southern flank and as a logistics platform in the Mediterranean Sea, supporting operations in the Middle East and North Africa.

The naval air base of Sigonella in Sicily is also a key hub for both the air force and naval aviation, Marrone said. It came into the spotlight last month after Italy rejected requests for US planes carrying weapons for use in the Middle East to land at the base, citing the need for parliamentary approval.

Italy also hosts US nuclear assets, more than 30 B61 nuclear bombs, which are deployed at the Aviano Air Base in the northeastern part of the country and the Ghedi Air Base, close to Brescia. It also stores US weaponry at Camp Darby in Tuscany.

US assets, such as the Navy 5th Fleet, also rely on the ports of Gaeta and Naples for maritime operations in the Mediterranean and to support power projection through the Red Sea and the Gulf, Marrone added.

Gradual drawdown

The US has for years indicated it wishes to reduce its presence in Europe to pivot towards the Indo-Pacific. Late last year, it announced plans to downsize its deployment in Romania. It has also, in recent months, handed over the Command of NATO forces in Naples to Italy.

A “gradual and jointly-managed” reduction in US troops would not be a problem, neither in political nor in military terms,” Maronne said. A sudden, radical withdrawal, however, would send a “worrying signal”.

Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Germany within the coming 12 months – a possible reprisal against Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s comments about the US operation in Iran – took European leaders and diplomats by surprise. While attending a summit of European leaders earlier this week, Meloni said she disagreed with the decision.

Her meeting with Rubio on Friday is now seen as a high-stakes “damage control” mission, rather than a routine diplomatic exchange, Arturo Varvelli, head of the Rome office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank, said.

The Italian leader had been seen to enjoy a privileged relationship with the White House, but has distanced herself since the start of the war against Iran, which she has criticised. She has also defended the Pope after Trump attacked him for criticising the war.

“When pressed, Meloni has always played the Western champion card,” Varvelli noted. She is likely to reiterate her willingness to participate in a mission in the Hormuz once an agreement is reached, citing Italy’s navy and resources for mine clearance, he added.

Trump said on Tuesday that the US was halting its operation to secure the free passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the press that the US would “soon” hand over responsibility to other countries.

(at, cm)