US secretary of state to visit Italy, Vatican amid Trump's tensions with Madrid, Pope Leo

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome from May 6 to 8 amid growing US tensions with Italy and the Vatican.

Rubio's travel aims to "advance bilateral relations" with both countries, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement on Monday.

"Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere," Pigott said.

Meetings with Italian counterparts, Pigott added, will focus on "shared security interests and strategic alignment."

The decision to send Rubio on the diplomatic mission came after President Donald Trump publicly expressed his displeasure with Italy, a NATO ally. The rift has grown wider amid the stalled US-Israeli war on Iran.

Trump said he "probably will" pull American forces out of Italy. He also charged that "Italy has not been of any help to us."

Tensions between the White House and the Vatican have also simmered for months. The friction began when Pope Leo XIV urged American bishops to defend immigrants' rights.

The pontiff later expressed deep concern over the US abduction of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. But the clearest break occurred when Pope Leo condemned the joint US-Israeli military attack against Iran.