Pope Leo XIV is urging an immediate return to diplomacy as violence intensifies across the Middle East following the US and Israel launching major ongoing combat operations against Iran.
Speaking during his Angelus prayer 1 March, the Holy Father said he is following with “profound concern” what he called a potential “tragedy of enormous proportions,” warning that the growing conflict risks becoming “an irreparable abyss.”
Stability and peace, he said, are not built with weapons or mutual threats, “but only through reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue.”
His appeal came hours after the United States and Israel announced that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in their sweeping 28 February assault targeting Tehran and other cities.
As Israeli and Iranian strikes continued into 1 March – with reported casualties mounting on both sides – world leaders traded sharp warnings. Pope Leo also cited unrest between Pakistan and Afghanistan, renewing his plea: “Only peace, a gift of God, can heal the wounds between peoples.”
