Pope Leo condemns Trump’s Iran threat before two-week attack delay
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Hours before President Donald Trump announced he was delaying attacking Iran for two weeks, Pope Leo issued a rare and pointed condemnation, calling Trump’s threat to the country on Tuesday morning “truly unacceptable.”
Speaking to reporters outside his home in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics spoke out against the escalating war and called for an immediate end to the conflict.
“Today, as we all know, there is a threat to the entire Iranian people and this is absolutely unacceptable,” the Pope said. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but more importantly there is a moral issue for the good of the entire population.”
The comments were apparently a reference to one of Trump’s earlier Truth Social posts: “Tonight an entire civilization will die and never be brought back. I don’t want it to happen, but it probably will… God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
TRUMP SAID THAT HE WILL HIT IRAN’S POWER POWER PLANTS AND BRIDGES IF THE STRAIT OF HORUZ IS NOT OPENED AGAIN
Pope Leo XIV speaks to the media about the US-Israeli conflict with Iran as he leaves the papal residence to return to the Vatican in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on April 7, 2026. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
Trump later said he would delay the “bombing and attack on Iran” for two weeks, based on his conversations with Pakistani leaders.
Postponement is subject to the following conditions: Islamic Republic of Iran The President wrote in a post on Truth Social that he agreed to “FULLY, IMMEDIATELY and SAFELY OPENING the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that the administration had received a 10-point proposal from Iran and that officials “believe this is a workable basis for negotiation.”
President Donald Trump shared a strongly worded threat against Iran on social media Tuesday morning. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
Pope Leo had warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure were “contrary to international law” and “a sign of hatred, of division”. [and] “The destruction that man is capable of.”
The pope described the conflict as a war that many described as “unfair” and that “solves nothing.”
“In fact, there is a worldwide economic crisis, there is an energy crisis situation in the Middle East with great instability, and this further fuels hatred around the world,” he said. “Then return to the table. Let’s talk, let’s look for a solution peacefully.”
The pope also took the unusual step of calling on ordinary citizens to “contact authorities (political leaders, congressmen) and ask them to work for peace and always reject war.”
Pope Leo condemned President Trump’s threat against Iran as morally unacceptable and called for an immediate end to the war. Hours later, Trump postponed the planned attacks by declaring a two-week conditional ceasefire to allow negotiations. (RELATED PRESS)
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While a conflict between the ruler of the Vatican City State and world leaders would be highly unusual, the Pope made his first direct appeal to Trump last week, urging him to find a “point of departure” to end the war with Iran. a report From Reuters.
Pope Leo appealed for the protection of the innocent on Tuesday, urging the world to remember “the children, the elderly and the sick who have become or will become victims of this ongoing war.”
