The closed-door meeting was the first between the head of the Catholic Church and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year.
It comes at a fraught time between Washington and the Holy See, with relations at a low after weeks of presidential attacks on Leo and the Chicago-born pope’s outspoken responses.
Asked by reporters Tuesday if he was going to the Vatican to “smooth things over with the Pope,” Rubio, a practicing Catholic, said the trip had been planned before and “obviously we had some stuff that happened.”
He said there was “a lot to talk about” with the Vatican, including humanitarian aid for Cuba and concerns over religious freedom around the world.
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Pope Leo and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican today.@VaticanNews / via X
Netanyahu vows anyone threatening Israel will be targeted after Hezbollah commander killed in “heart of Beirut”
“No terrorist has immunity,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Thursday, a day after an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
Netanyahu said the strike “in the heart of Beirut” killed Ahmed Ghaleb Balout, who was the commander of Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, warning that “anyone who threatens the State of Israel will pay the price.”
Netanyahu said with the killing of Balout, whom he said had led a plan by Hezbollah “to conquer the north” of Israel “we have eliminated more than 200 Hezbollah terrorists who acted against Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers.”
First responders inspect the rubble of a collapsed building following an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik, May 7, 2026. The strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs was the first such attack in nearly a month, and Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander from the elite Radwan force. Anwar AMRO/AFP/Getty
The Israeli and Lebanese governments signed a ceasefire, brokered by the Trump administration, weeks ago. The truce remains ostensibly in effect, but it has not stopped Hezbollah and Israel from attacking each other, or Israel from ordering the evacuation of dozens of towns and villages in a section of southern Lebanon it has occupied.
The conflict erupted in tandem with the joint U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, as Hezbollah joined its backers in Tehran in attacking Israel with rockets and drones not long after the Iran war began 69 days ago.
The ongoing violence in Lebanon has proven to be a sticking point in diplomatic efforts to nail down a wider peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran, as Tehran has thus far insisted on a stop to fighting on both fronts as part of any deal.
Hezbollah and Israel have accused each other of breaching the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon almost daily since it took effect.
At least 11 other people were killed Wednesday in Israeli strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.
Saudi state TV says “breakthrough” to let ships transit Strait of Hormuz “expected in the coming hours”
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned and operated Al-Hadath television channel reported Thursday that “intensive negotiations” were underway to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“Agreements have reportedly been reached regarding easing the blockade in exchange for a gradual reopening of the Strait,” the channel said, without naming any sources or specific reports.
“A breakthrough regarding the ships stranded in the Strait is expected in the coming hours,” the outlet predicted.
Saudi Arabia is one of about half of a dozen countries that rely heavily on shipping traffic through the strait to export their oil and gas from Persian Gulf ports. The kingdom was also among those targeted during the war by Iranian missiles and drones, as Tehran attacked Gulf states accused of cooperating with the U.S.-Israeli war effort.
Pakistani government says U.S.-Iran deal to end war expected “sooner rather than later”
“We expect an agreement sooner rather than later,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Thursday, echoing optimism voiced by President Trump on Wednesday.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has largely held since April 8, but in-person talks between the two countries hosted by Pakistan last month failed to bring a wider agreement to end the war that started on Feb. 28 with a blistering wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
“We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that will contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well,” Andrabi said.
He declined to give a timeline, however.
“What I can tell you, and this is what I have stated before, that we remain positive, we remain optimistic, and we hope the settlement will be soon rather than later,” he said.
Asked whether Pakistan expected any response from Iran to the latest U.S. proposal by the end of the day, Andrabi said he would “not comment on specifics or the movement of the messages.”
CBS/AP
Oil prices sink, Asian stocks surge on hope for deal to end Iran war
Oil sank again Thursday and Tokyo’s Nikkei index led another strong rally across Asia stocks, fuelled by growing optimism the Iran war is close to ending and the revival of demand for all things AI.
Risk sentiment was surging on hopes Washington and Tehran will conclude the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the start of March, choking off a fifth of the world’s crude.
Optimism got a huge boost Wednesday when President Trump said an agreement was near, a day after he paused efforts to help stranded ships through Hormuz, which drew Iranian attacks and threatened their fragile ceasefire.
If “Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to” the war would be over, Mr. Trump said. But if not, the bombing will resume “at a much higher level and intensity.”
He later told reporters: “We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal.”
Iran has yet to respond to the latest U.S. proposal, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei telling local media it was “still under review.”
Oil prices tumbled more than 2% on Thursday, having fallen around 10% over the previous two days, with international benchmark Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate in the U.S. both below $100.
CBS/AFP
Shipping intel firm says “right now the strait is closed,” as Iran says new “authority” will govern traffic
While the Iranian regime says it is considering the latest proposal from the U.S. to end the war that’s gridlocked the vital shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz for 69 days, it has also attempted to formalize its control over the waterway.
The Lloyd’s List shipping analyst and intelligence firm said in a report Wednesday that Iran “has created a new Persian Gulf Strait Authority to approve ship transits and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Lloyd’s said Iranian authorities had sent an example of the application form ship operators will be required to submit to gain permission to transit the strait, which it said requires detailed records of vessel “ownership, insurance, crew details and intended transit route.”
The firm said Iran, with the PGSA, had “positioned itself as the only valid authority to grant permission to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
A cargo ship is seen docked at the Port of Fujairah on the northeast coast of the United Arab Emirates, just south of the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, May 6, 2026. Amr Alfiky/REUTERS
In its Thursday briefing, Lloyd’s said “as of right now the strait is closed,” with no transits recorded since May 4.
Macron tells Iranian president strikes on UAE “unjustified,” calls on U.S. and Iran to lift Hormuz blockades
French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke Wednesday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and told him attacks on Emirati civilian infrastructure and ships near the Strait of Hormuz were “unjustified.”
“I expressed my deep concern about the ongoing escalation and condemned the unjustified strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure and several ships,” Macron said on X following the call.
Macron also said he had called on both the U.S. and Iran to immediately lift their respective restrictions on shipping in the strait without any conditions.
Speaking about the France and U.K.-led initiative to help ensure safe passage for commercial vessels through the strait once the war is over, Macron said “recent events clearly demonstrate the usefulness that such a mission would have.”
He said he would speak with President Trump about the mission.
“We are pleased that France’s approach is based on resolving issues through dialogue,” Pezeshkian told Macron, according to Iran’s presidency, adding that “any negotiation regarding the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz requires the lifting of the naval blockade imposed by the United States.”
CBS/AFP
Trump says there’s “never a deadline” in negotiations with Iran
As reporters began to leave the Oval Office Wednesday, one asked the president about a deadline for negotiations with Iran.
“Never a deadline,” the president responded. “It’ll happen. It’ll happen. But never a deadline.”
The president in the past has tried to impose a deadline for negotiations. He ended up extending that deadline and ceasefire for negotiations to continue.
Earlier Wednesday, the president told the New York Post it’s too soon to send senior U.S. officials to Iran for another in-person talks.
Gas prices top $4.50 a gallon, reaching highest level since July 2022
Gasoline prices across the U.S. surged to an average of $4.54 a gallon on Wednesday, the highest since July 2022, according to AAA data.
The price of regular gas has jumped 52%, or $1.56 per gallon, since the start of the Iran war in late February, as disruptions to oil flows in the Middle East drive up costs for motorists. The cost is approaching the highest-ever gas price, when it reached $5.02 a gallon in June 2022 during a pandemic-era spike in inflation.
Fuel costs climbed even as oil prices edged lower Wednesday on renewed hopes for a U.S.-Iran agreement, highlighting a disconnect between crude markets and what drivers pay at the pump.
Trump insists Iran leaders “want to make a deal” as war is going “unbelievably well” for U.S.
The U.S. has had “very good talks over the past 24 hours” aimed at reaching a peace deal with Iran, President Trump told reporters during an event with UFC fighters at the White House on Wednesday.
It wasn’t clear if the president meant the U.S. and Iran were talking directly or via Pakistani mediators.
“They want to make a deal,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours. And it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal.”
He acknowledged that there had been “some good talks before, as you know, and all of the sudden, the next day like, they’re like, they forgot what happened.”
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Trump said the war with Iran was going “unbelievably well.”
After an event to honor military mothers at the White House, he also favorably compared the operation in Iran to the one in January that saw former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro captured in his own capital city.
“We’re in a — I call it a skirmish, because that’s what it is, a skirmish, and we’re doing unbelievably well, as we did in Venezuela, where it was rapid, over in one day and we’re doing pretty much equally as well I would say, larger, but we’re doing very well in Iran.”
“It’ll be over quickly,” Mr. Trump predicted later Wednesday of the Iran war during an event to support Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Burt Jones.
The billions in profits big oil is reaping due to the Iran war may stymie the energy transition, experts and advocates fear, incentivizing oil and gas expansion and boosting the sector’s funds for political lobbying.
“Windfall profits from Trump’s war will allow big oil to build a wall of money around its Trump-era political victories,” said Lukas Shankar-Ross, a deputy director at green group Friends of the Earth.
The deadly conflict in Iran has created a historic energy shock due to attacks on fossil fuel facilities and the blockage of the crucial trade vessel the strait of Hormuz. Amid the chaos, energy prices – and oil companies’ earnings – have soared.
ConocoPhillips last week reported $2.3bn in profits for the first three months of 2026, up 84% from before the war began. Meanwhile, top petroleum refiner Valero Energy announced quarterly profits of $1.2bn, beating estimates. Liberty Energy, founded and formerly run by Donald Trump’s energy secretary Chris Wright, saw quarterly earnings of $10m, up 32% from before the war began. And BP said it had seen “exceptional” performance, more than doubling its profits during the year’s first quarter.
The oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil both saw their profits drop during the first three months of 2026, executives reported in earnings calls. Yet in short order, that trajectory will shift, analysts say. Consensus estimates shows ExxonMobil’s second-quarter earnings will more than double from a year ago, while Chevron profits are expected to increase by 56% for the year.
As oil companies rake in billions, Americans are suffering at the pump. On Wednesday, the US average price of gasoline soared to $4.52 per gallon, the highest price since July 2022.
“The reason why oil companies are doing so well right now, or at least are projected to do very well in the near term, is exactly because Americans are hurting,” said Kelly Mitchell, executive director of Fieldnotes, a watchdog organization tracking the oil and gas industry. “Their business interest is to extract as many dollars out of a barrel of oil as possible, and the folks on the other side of the equation are Americans who are just trying to fill up their gas tank and get to work.”
Trump has dismissed concerns about gas prices, telling reporters this week the spike is a “very small price to pay”. Since entering office, his administration has also made it clear that they are prioritizing the industry – which poured record donations into his campaign – over the American people, said the representative Sean Casten, a Democrat from Illinois. For instance, Trump ended a Biden-era ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, which has put “upward pressure on US gas prices”.
“If you are a US oil producer, you are really happy right now, and if you’re a US oil consumer, you’re really not,” said Casten, who in March unveiled a legislative package aimed at lowering energy bills by prioritizing affordable renewable energy and modernizing the grid. “There are a lot more oil consumers than producers in the United States, and this White House seems to be ignoring the overwhelming majority of Americans.”
Fuel price spikes could end up being a “huge boost to the oil industry’s political efforts”, said Mitchell. The windfall earnings come as the sector has achieved major policy wins.
Trump’s 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act alone, said Shankar-Ross, represents “the biggest expansion of fossil fuel subsidies in a generation”.
“Reversing this damage doesn’t get easier if the industry being subsidized is flush with cash,” he said.
It’s a concern that Isabella Weber and Gregor Semieniuk, economists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, raised in the wake of the last major fuel shock, resulting from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Cash flows are up, so there’s more money to go around, including for lobbying,” said Semieniuk. “In the US, there’s also the narrative that the US is lucky to have its own fossil fuel supply right now [to serve as a backstop to supply shortages]. So they are helped by the ability to capitalize on being the saviors of the moment.”
During the Russia-Ukraine fuel shock, the US oil industry ramped up its political lobbying, using the war to demand more oil and gas leasing and arguing that more domestic production was needed for energy security. Oil majors also scaled back their climate plans as profit opportunities in fossil fuels grew. And high profit margins also “encourage capital to go into an industry”, said Weber.
“That is exactly the opposite of what we want from the perspective of climate change mitigation, as it strengthens the fossil fuel industry as a political a constituency,” she said.
There are countervailing trends at work, said Weber. Renewables have become even more economically competitive than they were in 2022, and in March, the US for the first time generated more of its electricity from renewables than gas over the course of a full month. Meanwhile, high gas prices are undermining Trump’s popularity, potentially paving the way for a pro-environment president to take his place in 2029, said Weber.
“We may not see the very same trends we saw during the last shock,” she said. “But is this a big boost to big oil? Of course, absolutely.”
As Americans continue to pay more at the pump, President Donald Trump is doubling down the cost of fuel will drop quickly after the conflict with Iran comes to an end.
The cost of a gallon of gas is $4.558 as of Thursday, May 7 — about a 40-cent increase in a month and more than a dollar from a year ago.
A few days earlier, in a news conference on May 4, Trump said he expects the price of gasoline to drop “substantially” following the end of the Iran war, reported USA TODAY.
“I see it going down very substantially when this is over, I think very rapidly too, at levels that you’ve never seen because there’s a lot of energy out there, ships all over the world that are loaded up with it,” Trump said. “They can’t do much with it because they got kidnapped by a pretty evil place. But we’re taking care of it.”
Earlier, on May 1, Trump said gas prices would “come crashing down as soon as this war is over.”
In an interview with Fox News, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said gas prices would fall once the war in Iran came to a close.
“We are cognizant that this short-term blip up in prices is affecting the American people, but I am also confident, on the other side of this, prices are gonna come down very quickly,” Bessent told Fox News.
Iran war update today
Iranian officials are reviewing a U.S. framework for peace talks after Trump again threatened to resume airstrikes on the Middle Eastern country unless it agrees to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, reported USA TODAY.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump said on social media on Wednesday. He has not described the American proposal.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote.
Oil prices today
U.S. crude oil plunged by as much as 15%, to $88 per barrel, and international Brent crude oil fell as much as 11%, to $96 per barrel on May 6, as reported by CNBC, though prices rose to about $95 a barrel by Thursday morning.
Are gas prices going to go down?
Trump said that once the war with Iran is over, prices at the pump will drop “substantially.”
USA Today contributed to this story.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on x; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook
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