Marco Rubio meets Pope Leo amid tensions over Iran war

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday.

(NBC)- Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday as the Trump administration works to ease tensions following public disagreements over the war with Iran.

Rubio greeted the first American pontiff with a gift during the high-profile diplomatic visit, which comes after a public exchange between President Donald Trump and the pope last month.

The tension began after Pope Leo criticized the war, describing it as driven by a “delusion of omnipotence.”

Trump pushed back strongly against the remarks.

“He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump said. “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”

The pope responded by defending his right to speak openly about peace and morality.

“I have no fear of either the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel,” Pope Leo said.

Despite the public disagreement, both sides later attempted to soften the rhetoric.

Trump said the pope is free to express his opinions, while maintaining that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

“The Pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants,” Trump said. “But I can disagree.”

Pope Leo later described the situation as a misunderstanding over his calls for peace, emphasizing that the Catholic Church has consistently opposed all nuclear weapons.

“It was looked at as if I was trying to debate the president, which is not in my interest at all,” the pope said.

During Thursday’s meeting, the pope presented Rubio with a pen made from olive wood, symbolizing peace.

“Olive being, of course, the plant of peace,” Pope Leo said.