Rubio Meets Italian and Vatican Officials in Rome

U.S. Troops from Italy, Corriere della Sera reported. U.S. troops from Italy and Spain a day earlier.

U.S. Troops for NATO in Italy, too. Trump said 'Why shouldn't I? ' He added, 'I didn't need the help, but I said, 'yeah, we'd love to have your help, because I want to see if they'd do it. '' Trump further stated, 'And you know the amazing thing is they use the Strait of Hormuz, and we don't.

We don't use it. We don't need it. U.S. forces in Europe, with nearly 13,000 active-duty American troops stationed across six bases at the end of 2025. U.S.

Planes carrying weapons for the war in late March. -Israeli war on Iran from the start. Meloni is one of Trump’s closest European allies. Trump publicly criticized Meloni over her stance on the Iran war and for her defense of the pope.

The Pentagon announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany on Friday. U.S.

Was being “humiliated” by Iran. Trump has suggested that the number of troops withdrawn from Germany may increase. A senior Pentagon official said recent German rhetoric had been “inappropriate and unhelpful” and that “the president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks”.

Rubio is expected to meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Reuters reported citing La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera. U.S. vice-president JD Vance attended Pope Leo’s inauguration in May last year and had a private audience with Pope Leo the day after.

Rubio and Vance attended Pope Leo's inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square in May 2025 and held a private meeting with Pope Leo the following day in May 2025. Rubio and Vance handed Pope Leo an invitation from Trump to the White House during the private audience.

U.S. administration.

Pope Leo continued to speak out against the war on Iran and others in response to Trump’s outburst in April. Pope Leo has been critical of the Trump administration's peacemaking efforts in the Middle East. Trump attacked Leo on social media weeks before the trip and called the pontiff 'terrible' on social media.

Trump blasted the pope for criticizing the war on Iran and for criticizing the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies. He also wrote, 'Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. Thursday and Friday mark the one-year anniversary of the papacy of Pope Leo.

Pope Leo is the first US-born pontiff.