Aides cite friendly meeting as Rubio aims to mend U.S. ties with Pope Leo

In the United States and Italy, on 8 May 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Italian Prime Minister Meloni at Palazzo Chigi in Rome, seeking to ease tensions over the Iran war. Rubio first met Tajani. Meloni described the talks as 'frank dialogue between allies defending national interests' and 'wide, constructive, certainly frank', while Rubio told her the US is committed to close collaboration on shared priorities. La Repubblica describes her greeting as without emphasis, and Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that the mood had been better before.

Rubio also aimed to mend US ties with Pope Leo after a feud between Trump and the Pope over the Iran war. The Washington Post reports that aides cited a friendly meeting, and Tagesschau described the trip to Italy and the Vatican as a diplomatic mission.