Marco Rubio meets Pope Leo amid tensions with Trump over Iran war

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Thursday, at a time of increasing tensions following President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the Catholic leader over the Iran war.

Rubio's meeting with Leo was a sign of a "strong" relationship between the Vatican and the US, said a State Department spokesman. The Vatican did not immediately give any comment about the meeting.

Leo, the first American pope, drew Trump's ire after becoming a firm critic of the war on Iran and the Trump administration's hardline anti-immigration policies. Trump has criticised Leo, calling the pope 'weak on crime'.