VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo expressed deep concern on Sunday regarding the recent US-Israeli military strikes against Iran, issuing an urgent and heartfelt plea to halt the escalating conflict.
“I address a heartfelt appeal to the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” said the pope.
“Stability and peace are not built through mutual threats or through weapons … but only through reasonable, genuine, and responsible dialogue,” the pope said during his weekly address to after a Sunday prayer.
The United States and Israel continued large-scale military operations against Iran on Sunday, a day after launching coordinated strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Tehran vowed revenge and carried out retaliatory attacks across the region.
US President Donald Trump announced that “major combat operations” would continue uninterrupted throughout the week, or as long as necessary, following Saturday’s assault on Iranian military and strategic targets.
“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue uninterrupted throughout the week, or as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world,” said Trump.
Trump described Khamenei as a longstanding adversary of the United States and suggested the killing marked a response to the regime’s actions over decades.
The rapid exchange of strikes has raised fears of a broader regional war, particularly as Gulf states hosting American military facilities find themselves directly exposed.
Energy markets and global shipping routes are also under scrutiny amid concerns about potential disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
