CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy – Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was “truly unacceptable.” The pope also said any attacks on civilian infrastructure would violate international law.
The pope spoke to reporters as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. He was responding to Trump’s warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to meet a deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“Today, as we all know, there was this threat against the entire people of Iran,” Leo said. “This is truly unacceptable.”
The pope described the issue as both a legal and a moral matter.
“There are certainly issues of international law here,” Leo said, “but even more, it is a moral question concerning the good of the people as a whole.”
Trump had threatened to bomb power stations and bridges across Iran if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and reach an agreement by Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EDT. In a social media post, Trump said he did not want destruction to happen “but it probably will.”
Leo called on citizens around the world to contact their political leaders and members of Congress. He urged them to demand that leaders work for peace and reject war.
“People want peace,” Leo said.
The pope recalled his Easter appeal 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.”
He asked people to remember innocent civilians, including children, the elderly and the sick. Many of them, he said, have already become or will become victims of continued warfare.
Leo also warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure are not only against international law. He called them “a sign of the hatred, division, and destruction that the human being is capable of.”
It is rare for the pope, who leads an estimated 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, to respond directly to a world leader. Leo has been ramping up his criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in recent weeks. Last week, he made his first direct appeal to Trump, urging him to find an “off-ramp” to end the conflict.
Leo did not name Trump directly in his comments on Tuesday. But the context made clear which threat he was addressing. The pope said the conflict in the Middle East “is only provoking more hatred throughout the world.”
The pope’s rebuke came as the Trump administration defended its approach. A White House spokesperson told Politico that “the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing.” The spokesperson said the president would always stand with innocent civilians while confronting what the administration calls terrorist threats.
Trump has said his goal is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He has set a Tuesday night deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been nearly closed for weeks amid the war.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also called on Trump to step back from his threats.
The conflict began on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched an offensive against Iran. More than 1,400 people have been killed, according to reports. Iran has carried out drone and missile strikes on Israel and other countries in the region.