Hours before President Donald Trump announced a two-week delay in attacking Iran, Pope Leo issued a rare and pointed condemnation, denouncing Trump’s Tuesday morning threat against the country as “truly unacceptable.”
Speaking to journalists outside his residence 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 has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population.”
The comments were seemingly in reference to one of Trump’s earlier Truth Social posts, where he wrote, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will… God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
TRUMP VOWS US WILL STRIKE IRAN’S POWER PLANTS, BRIDGES IF STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS NOT REOPENED
Trump later said that, based on conversations with Pakistani leaders, he would delay the “bombing and attack of Iran” for two weeks.
The postponement is subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
He added the administration received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and officials “believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Pope Leo had warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure are “against international law” and serve as a “sign of the hatred, the division [and] the destruction the human being is capable of.”
The pontiff went on to describe the conflict as a war many are calling “unjust” that is “not resolving anything.”
“In fact, we have a worldwide economic crisis, energy crisis situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world,” he said. “So come back to the table. Let’s talk let’s look for solutions in a peaceful way.”
The pope also took the unusual step of calling on everyday citizens to “contact the authorities — political leaders, congressmen — to ask them to work for peace and to reject war always.”
A clash between the sovereign of the Vatican City State and world leaders is highly unusual, though the pope made his first direct appeal to Trump last week, urging him to find an “off-ramp” to end the war with Iran, according to a report from Reuters.
Pope Leo on Tuesday pleaded for the protection of the innocent, urging the world to remember “the children, the elderly, the sick,” who he said “have already become, or will become, victims of this continued warfare.”
Pope Leo calls out Trump’s Iran rhetoric before last-minute ceasefire emerges 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-04-08 01:57:19 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
