Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization was "truly unacceptable," adding that any attacks on civilian infrastructure would violate international law.
In some of his strongest comments yet on the conflict, the American pope urged Americans and other people of goodwill to contact political leaders and members of Congress to demand they reject war and work for peace.
"Today as we all know there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable," Leo said as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
He was referring to Trump's post on Truth Social, in which he wrote that if Iran did not accept a U.S.-proposed peace deal by 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."
Leo recalled his Easter appeal for peace and rejection of war, "especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate, and which is not resolving anything."
He invited all people of goodwill to contact their political leaders and members of Congress to remind them that attacks on civilian infrastructure are "against international law" and also are a "sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction human beings are capable of, and we all want to work for peace."
In recent weeks, the first U.S.-born pope has escalated the tone of his opposition to the conflict after initially issuing more muted appeals for peace and dialogue.
Last week for the first time, Leo publicly named Trump, saying he hoped the president was truly "looking for an off-ramp."
The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality, and it is rare for a pope to name a political leader or country specifically in a critical way. But the conflict has nudged even a typically reserved pope to break with that protocol.
On Tuesday, Leo didn't cite Trump by name but, in comments in English, urged Americans to contact their congressional representatives "to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war."
"We have a worldwide economic crisis, an energy crisis, a situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world," he said.
He said the message to political leaders should be: "Come back to the table, let's talk, let's look for solutions in a peaceful way and let's remember especially the innocent children, the elderly, sick, so many people who have already become or will become victims of this continued warfare."
The Vatican is particularly concerned about how the conflict has spread to renewed fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists. The Vatican fears for Christians in southern Lebanon, who are an important bulwark for the church in the region.
Earlier in the day, the Vatican released a special message from Leo to the residents of Debel, Lebanon, after a Vatican-led convoy carrying more than 40 tons of aid was prevented from delivering an Easter shipment. The shipment was canceled for what Lebanon's Maronite Church said were "security reasons."
In the message, Leo expressed solidarity with the "injustices" that Christians in southern Lebanon are enduring and compared them to Christ's suffering.
"In your misfortune, in the injustice you endure, in the feeling of abandonment you experience, you are very close to Jesus. You are close to Him also on this Easter Day when He conquered the forces of evil, and which resonates for you as a promise of the future," read the message, which was written in French and signed by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Leo visited Lebanon late last year on his first international trip as pope.
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