Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to the Vatican and Italy on a fence-mending visit after President Donald Trump’s broadsides against Pope Leo XIV and the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran have alienated those allies. Rubio’s audience Thursday with Leo was complicated at the last minute by Trump’s latest criticism of the Chicago-born pope. Leo has pushed back, calling out Trump’s misrepresentations of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons and insisting that he's merely preaching the biblical message of peace. Rubio’s meetings Friday with Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani might not be much easier, given both have strongly defended Leo against Trump’s attacks and have criticized the Iran war as illegal.

The Trump administration seems unlikely to accept Iran’s offer to end the war and its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. The proposal delivered by Pakistan calls for the U.S. to lift its blockade on Iran. It also would postpone discussions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has appeared to rule that out. He says preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon remains a “core issue.” The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security team has discussed the offer and Trump will address it later. The offer emerged Monday as Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran.