Rubio Previews Rome Trip, Warns Iran of Economic Destruction

Secretary of State Marco Rubio previewed a trip to Rome from the White House briefing room on Tuesday. He issued sharp warnings to Iran and showed command of the podium, earning praise from conservative allies online.

"The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage, and other secretaries of State have done that in the past," Rubio said at the White House press conference.

The briefing occurred two days before Rubio's planned visit to the Vatican and Italy for meetings. Tensions have risen between President Donald Trump, Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over the U.S.-Iran conflict. Rubio defended the administration's stance toward Tehran, played down the timing of the Italy visit and signaled that Washington will maintain its pressure campaign.

"The message to Iran ... these guys are facing real catastrophic destruction to their economy, generational destruction to the wealth of their country imposed on themselves by the actions that they're taking," Rubio said.

"They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the direction that they're going," he added, referencing Ice Cube's rap song "Check Yo Self."

Rubio, a Catholic, will meet Pope Leo on Thursday morning. The pontiff has criticized the Trump administration's Middle East efforts. "There has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable," the pope said in April. "There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population."

The pope's comments appeared to reference a Trump Truth Social post. Trump wrote, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will... God Bless the Great People of Iran!"

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he has one message for the pope. "Whether I make him happy or I don't make him happy, Iran can not have a nuclear weapon," he said. "And he seemed to be saying that they can. And I say they cannot, because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage. And we're not going to let that happen."

Rubio will also meet Meloni, who has distanced herself from the U.S. amid domestic and political pressure over the Middle East conflict. The meeting follows Trump's order to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months as he presses NATO allies to align against Iran.

Meloni said Tuesday she would not support reducing the U.S. military presence in Italy, contrasting with Trump's push to reposition forces in Europe. Italy hosts nearly 13,000 active-duty American troops across six bases as of the end of 2025.

Rubio's trip follows praise for his recent White House briefing stint, filling in for Karoline Leavitt during her maternity leave. He joked with reporters, answered questions in multiple languages and warned Iran.

"Marco Rubio is showing the nation & the world what we’ve known about him for decades," Republican Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez said on X. "Rubio is one of the most eloquent, articulate, & incredibly capable statesmen of our times."