Pope Denounces Trump’s Threats Against Iran as ‘Truly Unacceptable’ and ‘Not Resolving Anything’

AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

Pope Leo XIV denounced President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran as “truly unacceptable,” in an unusually direct critique of a world leader.

The U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran have been controversial from the beginning, and Trump has gotten scathing criticism from the right as well as the left. The president’s social media posts over the last few days, threatening devastating consequences if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, have been assessed as war crimes by numerous international law experts.

Trump’s Truth Social post on Tuesday threatened that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if the deadline is missed, and further raised alarm around the world and sparked a wave of calls for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, removing Trump from office.

Leo was asked about Trump’s recent comments by reporters outside the papal residence in Castel Gandfolfo, Italy, on Tuesday, according to video shared by Reuters. An article by Reuters’ Yesim Dikmen emphasized it was “rare for ​the pope, who leads 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, to respond directly to a world leader.”

“Today, as we all know, there was this threat against the entire ​people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said in Italian (translation by Reuters). “There are certainly issues ⁠here of international law, but even more than that, it is a ​moral question for the good of the [world’s] people.”

Leo continued in English, saying he was “asking all people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate, and which is not resolving anything. In fact, we have a worldwide economic crisis, energy crisis, a situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world.”

“So come back to the table, let’s talk, let’s look for solutions, in a peaceful way,” he said. “And let’s remember, especially, the innocent: children, the elderly, the sick, so many people who have already become or will become victims of this continued warfare, and to remind all that attacks on civilian infrastructure is against international law, but that it is also a sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction that human beings are capable of, and we all want to work for peace.”

“People want peace,” he concluded. “I would invite the citizens ​of all the ​countries involved to ⁠contact the authorities — political leaders, congressmen — to ask them, tell them, to work for peace and to reject war, always.”

Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, made history last year when he became the first American pope. Catholics in his hometown of Chicago cheered his selection, as did many others who had worked with him during his long career. He has been an outspoken advocate against numerous wars, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and more recently the U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran.

The pope has previously criticized Trump’s directly, objecting to his immigration policies, taking issue with Vice President JD Vance’s comments about the theological concept of ordo amoris, and rejecting Trump’s invitation to join his newly-formed “Board of Peace.” The war in Iran has sparked more intense and express critiques from the pontiff; last month he urged Christian political leaders who start wars to examine their “conscience” and “go to confession.”

Multiple Catholic cardinals in the U.S. have also spoken out against the Iran war over the past few weeks. On Tuesday, Archbishop Paul Coakley, who serves as the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a new statement condemning Trump’s remarks and calling for peace.

“The threat of destroying a whole civilization and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified,” said Coakley. “I call on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost.”

The pope has also invited people around the world to join in a prayer vigil for peace this coming Saturday, April 11.

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