Marco Rubio meets Pope Leo amid tensions with Trump over Iran war
Marco Rubio meets Pope Leo amid tensions with Trump over Iran war
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday, at a time of increasing tensions following President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the Catholic leader over the Iran war.
Rubio's meeting with Leo was a sign of a "strong" relationship between the Vatican and the US, said a State Department spokesman. The Vatican did not immediately give any comment about the meeting.
Leo, the first American pope, drew Trump's ire after becoming a firm critic of the war on Iran and the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration policies. Trump has criticised Leo, calling the pope 'weak on crime'.