ROME (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is opening his second day of fence-mending meetings Friday with talks scheduled with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in a bid to ease tensions over the war with Iran. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his complaints about Europe’s unwillingness to help the U.S. with the war and his attacks against Pope Leo XIV have fueled weeks of sharp disagreements over trade and defense cooperation between the two traditionally strong allies. Rubio will also meet Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The trip began Thursday with Rubio meeting Leo as part his broader effort to defuse trans-Atlantic tensions. Meloni and Tajani are expected to use the meetings to try to preserve Italy’s strategic partnership with the U.S. while pushing back against Washington’s pressure over the Iran conflict. Trump has criticized both the pope and Italy’s government for opposing the war.…