Michelle Kellerman

The Vatican has expressed concerns about a humanitarian crisis there as the U.S.

cuts off most fuel shipments.

and as Trump talks about a, quote, friendly takeover of the communist island.

Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

President Trump has called the Pope soft on crime and on Iran, but none of those tensions were on display as Rubio exchanged gifts with the Pope and met with him privately.

The State Department says the meeting underscored the strong relationship between the U.S.

and the Holy See and said they discussed the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere.

Rubio's State Department has been working with the Catholic Church in Cuba to deliver aid,

The Vatican has expressed concerns about a humanitarian crisis there as the U.S.

cuts off most fuel shipments.

And as Trump talks about a, quote, friendly takeover of the communist island.

Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

Secretary Rubio calls it a test for the U.N.

and a, quote, modest request to call on Iran to stop putting mines and attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

That needs to stop and it needs to end.

Rubio says it's in Russia and China's interest to get Iran to stop blocking the strait, but those two recently vetoed a similar measure, arguing that the root cause of this crisis is what they call the unlawful U.S.

and Israeli war against Iran.

Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

force separation will be effective today, says an unsigned email that went out to diplomats who had been in limbo for the past year.

The American Foreign Service Association opposed the move, saying the department did not follow its own rules for a reduction in force and is now losing officers with rare language skills and decades of institutional knowledge, even as it brings in new foreign service officers.