U.S. President Donald ​Trump on Tuesday called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a "nice person" but criticised her for failing to ‌help in the conflict with Iran, his latest remarks in a diplomatic dispute that is straining bilateral ties.

Axar.az reports, ciing Reuters, she ​had criticised him this year for lashing out at Pope Leo over his condemnation of the ⁠Iran war. That, in turn, prompted a blunt rebuke from the U.S. president, who denounced her for refusing to help ​re-open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said his relationship with Meloni "became a little bad because she refused to help us" with ​Iran.

"She refused to get involved so it soured my relationship with her a little bit. But I like her. I think she's a nice person, actually. But I think she made a mistake," Trump told reporters in Turkiye where he was attending a NATO summit.

In March, Italy denied permission for ​U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before heading to the Middle East because Washington had ​not sought prior authorisation from the government in Rome.

The U.S. leader had been asked about a picture he posted on Truth Social ‌at the ⁠weekend, showing Meloni looking up at him with the caption "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED", a move that reignited the dispute with the Italian prime minister ahead of the NATO gathering in Ankara they will both attend.

Meloni was once seen as a close ally of Trump, but the relationship faltered last month when he told Italian TV channel La7 that she had "begged" him to take a photo with ​her at a G7 summit in France. She denied the claim and accused him of fabricating the story.