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Secretary Rubio Answers Press Questions in Rome, May 8, 2026

May 8, 2026 · U.S. Department of State · 0:23:11

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio answered questions at the U.S. Embassy in Rome on May 8, 2026, the day after meeting Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister Meloni. He called the papal meeting “very cordial and important,” saying he updated the Vatican on Iran and discussed the Church’s global role — Christian communities threatened in Africa and Lebanon, Latin America, and humanitarian delivery, including $6 million in U.S. aid distributed in Cuba by Caritas and a standing $100 million offer the Cuban regime has not agreed to distribute. Asked whether he would advise the President to stop criticizing the Pope, he declined to preview his advice and said the President “will always speak clearly about how he feels.”

On NATO, Rubio — describing himself as a strong supporter of the alliance throughout his Senate career — said the denial of European bases by some members, Spain named as an example, during a recent contingency “actually impeded the mission” and has to be examined; broader posture decisions belong to the President and none had been made. The Germany withdrawal, he said, was pre-programmed and returns presence to 2022 levels. On Iran, he said everyone agrees Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, an Iranian response to negotiations was expected that day, and any Iranian move to normalize control of the Strait of Hormuz — an agency to control traffic in the straits was reported overnight — would be “illegal” and “unacceptable,” with a U.S.-backed UN resolution in preparation. On Cuba, he clarified that U.S. sanctions target GAESA, “a holding company set up by generals in Cuba” whose billions benefit no ordinary Cuban, and said more GAESA sanctions were imposed the previous day with more to come. He also addressed Lebanon (Hizballah as an Iranian agent blocking Israel-Lebanon normalization, with Italy positioned to help equip and finance the Lebanese government), Taiwan (U.S. policy unchanged ahead of the President’s China trip), Ukraine (mediation efforts stagnated but the U.S. stands ready), and Sudan.

Why it matters

Rome is the trip’s fullest single record of the Secretary working the Vatican, NATO-basing, Iran, and Cuba files in one sitting — including the base-denial argument that anchors the administration’s NATO posture case and the GAESA framing that the May 20 Cuba message then carried directly to the Cuban public.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Secretary Rubio Remarks to the Press in Rome” (official upload, embedded above). Remarks as delivered; transcript reviewed in the site’s private research store.