Iran has sided with Pope Leo XIV after Donald Trump twice attacked the head of the Catholic Church on Sunday. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian also spoke out about the bizarre AI-generated image of the US leader published overnight depicting him as Jesus Christ.
In a message posted on Twitter, Iran’s president addressed the Pope directly, writing: “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), I, on behalf of the great nation of Iran, condemn the insult to Your Majesty, and declare that the insult to Jesus, the Prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person. I pray to Allah for your majesty.”
It came as Mr Trump accused the Pope of being “weak on crime and terrible at foreign policy” in a bizarre statement on his social media platform Truth Social.
He said: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that the United States attacked Venezuela, a country that was sending huge amounts of drugs into the United States and, worse, was emptying its prisons of criminals, drug dealers, and murderers into our country.”
The Holy Father said he would continue to call for peace and promote dialogue amid Mr Trump’s ongoing campaign in the Middle East.
He told Reuters: “I don’t think the message of the gospel should be abused in the way that some people are doing.
“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, promote peace, dialogue among states to find just solutions to problems, and multilateral relations.”
He told The Associated Press: “I think to put my message on the same level as what the president has attempted to do here is not understanding what the message of the gospel is.
“And I’m sad to hear that, but I will stick to what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
