Before Vatican trip, Rubio defends Trump remarks on Pope Leo over Iran

The story

Comments come before Marco Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday.

From the source

x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info This combination photos shows Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump [AP] By Elizabeth Melimopoulos and Reuters Published On 5 May 2026 5 May 2026 United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed back on comments that President Donald Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of “endangering Catholics” over his stance on the Iran war, saying his early remarks had been mischaracterised.

“Well, I don’t think that’s an accurate description of what he said,” Rubio told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Trump’s comments that the pope was “endangering a lot of Catholics”.

Rubio said the president’s concern was rooted in the threat Iran could pose to “places that have a lot of Catholics and Christians and others”, and questioned why “anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon”.

Who and what

Key names and topics in this story: Before Vatican, Rubio, Trump, Pope Leo.

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