Pope Leo XIV responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” in a brutal bombing campaign targeting civilian infrastructure, calling it “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,” Leo, the first American pope to preside over the Catholic Church, said.
Trump made the stunning remark on Truth Social Tuesday morning, writing that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump continued. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”
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The pope said the continued escalation of the war with Iran is “not resolving anything,” but instead “only provoking more hatred throughout the world.”
“Attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law,” but it’s also a “sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction human beings are capable of,” Leo said.
Trump has amped up his rhetoric against Iran over the past few days, culminating in the threat to devastate the country’s civilian infrastructure should it continue to block passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane through which much of the global oil supply travels.
At a press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump gave Iran an 8 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline to strike up a deal.
The pope is not alone in condemning Trump’s threats toward Iranian civilians. There have been Democratic calls to remove the president from office over the remarks, as well as some rare Republican pushback.
“I am hoping and praying that President Trump is – that this really is bluster,” Sen. Ron Johnson said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast. “I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure. I do not want to see that. We are not at war with the Iranian people, we are trying to liberate them.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski also posted on X that Trump’s threats were an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations in Iran.
“This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years. It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home,” she said.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent, also called the threats an ill-advised “negotiation tactic.”
“The United States does not destroy civilizations,” Kiley posted on X. “Nor do we threaten to do so as some sort of negotiating tactic. We should all desire a future of freedom, security, and prosperity for the people of Iran.”
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