Pope Leo vows to continue Iran war critiques after Trump attacks

Pope Leo XIV vowed to keep criticising the US-Israeli war on Iran, hours after President Donald Trump blasted the pontiff and opened up a fresh political rift with his Italian political allies.

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialog and multilateral relationships among the ​states to look for just solutions to problems,” Leo told reporters Monday as he flew to Algeria for the start of a tour through Africa, according to Reuters.

The comments are likely to further escalate tensions between the president and the US-born pope, who has been denouncing the war in Iran with increasing frequency.

Leo insisted he wasn’t seeking to engage Trump, hours after the president attacked him as “WEAK on crime.”

“I don’t want to get into a debate with ⁠him,” he said. “I don’t ​think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused ​in the way that some people are doing.”

The exchange lands at a politically sensitive moment for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has shown signs of distancing herself from the US administration after losing a high-profile national referendum.

While Meloni largely stayed out of the fray on Monday, Trump’s broadside prompted swift pushback from Matteo Salvini, a senior member of Italy’s government who heads the far-right League party and has often praised Trump.

“If there is one person that is working for peace, it’s Pope Leo,” he said, according to newswire Ansa. “Attacking the Pope, a symbol of peace and spiritual guide for billions of Catholics, doesn’t seem like a useful and intelligent thing to do.”

The spat began Friday, when the pontiff wrote on X: “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword who today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace.”

On Sunday evening, Trump lashed out in response.

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.”

Moments later, Trump posted a picture that appeared to echo images of Jesus, depicting himself in robes healing a sick patient.

On Monday, Leo said he was not attempting to become a political figure with his remarks about the war.

“The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers. I do ​not look at ​my role as ⁠being political, a politician,” he said.

Previously, the pope had also challenged the administration’s argument that God is on the side of the US in the conflict with Iran.

Leo didn’t specifically cite Trump in his critiques, but his remarks followed repeated comments from the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth couching the US war against Iran in religious terms, comparing a downed US fighter pilot to Jesus and arguing that God has given divine protection to US troops.

Leo, the first US-born pope, is on the first leg of an Africa trip that will see him visit Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Though it isn’t his first trip to a Muslim-majority nation — Leo visited Turkey last year — it is a sign of outreach as conflict roils the Middle East.

Meloni wished the pontiff well on his trip in a statement on Monday, saying she hoped he could “help with the resolution of conflict and the return to peace between and within nations.” But she avoided referencing Trump’s papal criticisms in her comments.

Trump has had several run-ins with the Catholic Church since returning to office in 2025. Last year, as the church was picking its next leader after Pope Francis died, the White House and Trump posted a picture of the president dressed like the pope.

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