The Iran war has put US global leadership on the line, Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said, expressing fear about the “madness” of nuclear escalation.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, Crosetto, a close ally of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who has a good relationship with Trump, said he worried the conflict could take an even worse turn and cited the 1945 US nuclear bombings of Japan in World War Two.

“This war is also putting the United States at risk in its global leadership,” Crosetto told Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday.

“Just think: it was human beings like us who decided that even Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acceptable means of ending a conflict. Unfortunately, we still possess nuclear weapons, and those who do not have them are seeking to acquire them. We have learnt nothing,” he said.

“The risk is madness, and what we are experiencing is a conflict in which every action triggers a reaction at a higher level.”

Crosetto, who is due to address parliament about the Iran war later on Tuesday, said Trump should have braver advisers.

“One of the problems of this presidency is that no one dares contradict the boss,” he said.