Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday that Europe needs the United States, and vice versa, as America’s top diplomat wrapped up two days of fence-mending talks in Italy and the Vatican following weeks of tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.
Tajani reaffirmed strong transatlantic ties and said he hoped “tensions have been calmed” with Rubio’s visit.
Meanwhile, the Iran war’s shaky ceasefire was further strained Friday as the United Arab Emirates responded to a missile and drone strike, hours after the U.S. said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliated against Iranian military facilities.
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Rubio says Iran’s reported plan to create an agency to control Strait of Hormuz is ‘unacceptable’
And he warned that if Tehran attacks U.S. Navy ships “they’re going to get blown up.”
Rubio fielded questions at the end of a two-day fence-mending visit to Rome and the Vatican after sharp disagreements over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
He was asked about reports from a shipping data company that said Iran has created a government agency to vet and tax vessels seeking passage through the strait.
“Is the world going to accept that Iran now controls an international waterway?” Rubio asked. “What is the world prepared to do about it?”
He also warned Tehran against attacking American maritime assets in the region. The U.S. said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The red line is clear. They threaten Americans, they are going to be blown up,” he said.
Rubio says US expecting Iran response Friday
The secretary of state, traveling in Italy, said the U.S. is anticipating a response from Iran on the ongoing diplomatic discussions sometime later Friday.
“We should know something today,” Rubio, who doubles as the White House national security adviser, told reporters.
He added: “I hope it’s a serious offer. I really do.”
Judge rules Trump administration’s cancellation of humanities grants was unconstitutional
The Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants to scholars, writers, research groups and other organizations was unconstitutional, and the Department of Government Efficiency had no authority to end the funding, a federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan sided with The Authors Guild, several other groups and several people who had their grants canceled and sued DOGE and the National Endowment for the Humanities. McMahon permanently barred the administration from terminating the grants and criticized DOGE’s use of artificial intelligence in nixing the funding.
Government lawyers had argued that the cuts of more than 1,400 grants of congressionally approved funds were legal moves to implement President Donald Trump’s directives, eliminate grants associated with diversion, equity and inclusion and reduce discretionary spending under the administration’s priorities.
The White House and Department of Justice, which defended against the lawsuit, did not immediately return emails seeking comment Thursday evening. It was not immediately clear if an appeal was planned.
Federal court rules against new global tariffs Trump imposed after loss at the Supreme Court
A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.
A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued.
The court ruled 2-1 that Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the president under the law. The tariffs are “invalid″ and “unauthorized by law,” the majority wrote.
The third judge on the panel found the law allows the president more leeway on tariffs.
If the administration appeals Thursday’s decision, as expected, it would first turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, based in Washington, and then, potentially, the Supreme Court.
At issue are temporary 10% worldwide tariffs the Trump administration imposed after the Supreme Court in February struck down even broader tariffs the president had imposed last year on almost every country on Earth. The new tariffs were set to expire July 24.
Trump drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to inspect new blue coating he’s putting on it
Trump on Thursday went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see the Reflecting Pool after he had it coated in a color he calls “American flag blue.”
The Republican president was driven across the new coating before he got out of his SUV to make a statement and answer questions from reporters who had been taken there to await his arrival before the sun set.
The new blue coating will hide the pool’s gray stone, a color Trump said was “never good.” The project cost nearly $2 million, he said.
“It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” he said, standing in the pool surrounded by some of his Cabinet secretaries, including Doug Burgum of Interior and Markwayne Mullin of Homeland Security.
UAE reports drone and missile attack as Iran war ceasefire is challenged
The Iran war’s shaky ceasefire was further strained on Friday as the United Arab Emirates responded to a missile and drone strike, hours after the U.S. said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliated against Iranian military facilities.
There were no immediate reports of damage in the UAE.
Iran and the U.S. are trading blows as their negotiators are seeking a deal to end the fighting, but so far they’ve avoided a return to all-out fighting. It’s not clear how close the two sides are to a deal on issues like Iran’s nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel vowed to halt when they launched the war on Feb. 28, or the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that Iran has all but closed in a bid to pressure the global economy.
On Thursday, Tehran said it was examining the latest U.S. proposals for ending the war delivered to it via Pakistan, which is serving as a mediator.
Italy tells Rubio that Europe needs America and vice versa on Day 2 of US fence-mending visit
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday that Europe needs the United States, and vice versa, as America’s top diplomat wrapped up two days of fence-mending talks in Italy and the Vatican following weeks of tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.
Tajani reaffirmed strong transatlantic ties and said he hoped “tensions have been calmed” with Rubio’s visit. He said the two discussed the Iran war and spillover into Lebanon, as well as the situation in Venezuela and Cuba. The U.S. secretary of state was also meeting Friday with Premier Giorgia Meloni.
“I believe things can go in the right direction,” Tajani said. “I am convinced Europe needs America — Italy needs America — and the United States also needs Europe and Italy.”
President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his complaints about Europe’s unwillingness to help the U.S. with the Iran war and his attacks on Pope Leo XIV have fueled weeks of sharp disagreements over trade and defense cooperation between the two traditionally strong allies.
The Associated Press
