US EditionPope Leo calls Trump's threat against Iran 'truly unacceptable'
Leo said threats against the Iranian people are unacceptable and warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure would violate international law.
- On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, Pope Leo XIV condemned President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization as "truly unacceptable," speaking from Castel Gandolfo, Italy. The pontiff warned that striking civilian infrastructure violates international law.
- Trump issued the ultimatum via Truth Social, threatening that "a whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran failed to meet an 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The president also pledged to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges.
- Legal experts and international officials warn that targeting civilian populations or infrastructure constitutes war crimes under the Geneva Conventions. Pope Leo urged "people of good will" to press political leaders to reject war and seek peaceful negotiations.
- At least 50 Democratic members of Congress called for Trump's removal via the 25th Amendment, while UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed being "deeply troubled" by the threats. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is brokering potential peace talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators.
- This condemnation marks a rare, direct confrontation between the Vatican and the U.S. president during the ongoing six-week conflict. Analysts warn that such rhetoric risks entrenching violence and further destabilizing the Middle East, complicating potential diplomatic off-ramps.
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Pope Leo remains faithful to being a moral conscience for the world.
I would like to respond to the column of syndicated columnist Cal Thomas in the Tuesday, April 7 edition of this paper. Mr. Thomas attacks Pope Leo for calling “unacceptable” the recent threats of President Trump to destroy Iran unless…
Rome. Pope Leo XIV said yesterday that the threats against the Iranian population are “unacceptable,” in an unusual call, hours after President Donald Trump assured that “tonight ( yesterday) a whole civilization will die,” a comment that shocked world leaders in the midst of the war in the Middle East.
Pope Leo slams Trump’s threat to destroy Iran's civilization
Just hours before the two-week Iran-US ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV issued a rare and strong rebuke of Donald Trump, saying the US president's threat to wipe out Iran's whole civilization was 'truly unacceptable'.
Trump just the other day wanted to wipe out Iranian civilization, which the Pope said was unacceptable.
Hours before news of ceasefire, Pope Leo XIV issues strong rebuke of Trump
NEW YORK — Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, issued a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying it was “truly unacceptable” to threaten to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilisation.”
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