Rubio cites 'positive' meeting with pope after meeting Meloni

The US secretary of state met the Italian prime minister in Rome on Friday at a moment of unusual strain between Trump and Italy, driven largely by the war with Iran. Rubio called the meeting with Pope Leo 'cordial and important' and said he had explained the US position on Iran, in a fence-mending visit to Rome after sharp disagreements over the US-Israel war in Iran and Trump’s criticisms of the pontiff Middle East crisis live