US EditionPope Leo calls Trump's threat against Iran 'truly unacceptable'
The pope said threats against civilians and infrastructure violate international law and urged citizens to press leaders for peace, as Pakistan brokered talks.
- 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's searing criticism of Trump's 'vile' war threats raises eyebrows
President Donald Trump's threats to obliterate Iran with a total bombing campaign drew fierce condemnation from Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, who proclaimed, “This is truly not acceptable. Here there are certainly questions of international law, but even more than this a question of morality for the good of people,” and that “attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law, but it is also against sign of the hatred and division that …
Pope Leo XIV calls Trump's Iran threat 'truly unacceptable'
"There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole, entire population," the pope said in Italian to reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
The pontiff's words a few hours after the expiry of Trump's ultimatum to Iran: "What we are facing is a moral question. Think of so many children, so many elderly, so many innocent victims of this escalation"
Pope Leo XIV once again criticized the war in the East, stating that threats against the Iranian people were "absolutely unacceptable" and calling on people to seek peace.
Pope Leo condemns Trump’s latest threats against Iran
Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday condemned President Donald Trump’s threat to strike Iranian civilian infrastructure as he implored leaders to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing war. Leo said Trump’s threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not strike a deal is “truly unacceptable.” “I would simply say, once again, what I said in the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message on Sunday: asking all people of goodwill to search, always, for peace …
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