U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U.S. President Donald Trump's broadsides against Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the Iran war angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them.

The U.S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican's top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See," and reflected the "enduring partnership" between them.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war was "very possible" following "very good talks" over the past day.

"We've had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll make a deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about striking a deal with Iran, which could include Iran exporting its highly enriched uranium to the United States, in a phone call Wednesday with PBS News.

Trump said he feels the U.S. is closing in on a deal, "but I felt that way before with them, so we'll see what happens."

Iran foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that a U.S. proposal to end the war is still "under review" by Tehran, local media reported.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia had decided to reject efforts to halt fighting and save lives by launching fresh attacks on Ukraine, which had called a unilateral ceasefire.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum Wednesday for Iran to accept a deal to end the war or face renewed, more intense U.S. bombing, in the latest of a series of abrupt policy shifts.

"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," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform," using the U.S. name for its campaign against Iran.

The United States and a key mediator in the Middle East war expressed new hope of talks leading to a peace deal with Iran on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump halted a plan to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue told U.S. news portal Axios.

Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn't abided by its own ceasefire, saying that air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a "greater role" in ending hostilities in the Middle East during talks with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, a week before U.S. President Donald Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping.