Meloni meets Rubio as Iran war strains Italy-US ties

ROME

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday at a ​moment of unusual strain between her government and President Donald Trump's administration, driven largely ‌by the war with Iran. Rubio is in Italy for a two-day trip aimed at easing ties with Pope Leo after unprecedented attacks on the pontiff by Trump, while also addressing Washington's frustration over Italy's refusal to support the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Meloni ​had been one of Trump's firmest supporters in Europe, cultivating close ties with him and ​presenting herself as a natural bridge between Washington and other EU states that ⁠had no natural political affinity with the Republican U.S. leader.