Rubio holds ‘constructive’ meeting with Pope Leo after Trump sends hard-line Iran message to Vatican

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. President Donald Trump is asked by a reporter about his disagreements over Iran with Pope Leo XIV. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican for "constructive" conversations on Thursday following heightened tensions between President Donald Trump and the pontiff over the U.S.-Iran conflict. "The conversations today were friendly and constructive," a State Department official told Fox News Digital. Rubio, a Catholic, held a private meeting with the pope to reaffirm the Vatican-U.S. partnership early on Thursday morning. Trump said he sent Rubio to deliver what he described as a "very simple" message: Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. Rubio and Leo discussed the situation in the Middle East and "topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere," according to a State Department readout. RUBIO TO VISIT ITALY, VATICAN AMID TR