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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a message backing Pope Leo XIV after U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized the pontiff over his comments on war and Iran.
In the message, Pezeshkian addressed the pontiff as “Pope Louis XIV” and condemned what he described as an insult to the pope on behalf of Iran.
“His Holiness Pope Louis XIV, I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person. I wish you glory by Allah,” the post said.
The post appeared as the clash between Trump and Pope Leo intensified after the pope spoke out against war and defended his comments on Iran.
Pope Leo said he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and would continue speaking out against war after Trump attacked him over his remarks on Iran and accused him of being weak on crime and foreign policy.
“I will not enter into debate. The things I say are not meant as attacks on anyone,” Pope Leo told reporters on the papal plane, according to AFP. “I am inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, of looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”
The pope said he would continue what he described as the mission of the Church in the world today.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do. We are not politicians; we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective (as) he might understand it. But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker,” he said.
Leo also said he did not want to directly engage in a debate with Trump, even after the U.S. president intensified his criticism in public remarks and on social media.
Pope Leo told reporters he did not want to “get into a debate” with Trump.
“I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing,” he said.
He said he would continue speaking out against war and in favor of peace.
“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” he said.
The pope’s remarks came after he became increasingly vocal about the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. Last week, he condemned Trump’s rhetoric and threats against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
Trump responded with a series of attacks, including a Truth Social post in which he called the pope “WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy."
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump wrote.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday evening before the pope departed for Africa, Trump also said he was “not a fan of Pope Leo.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump said.
At Joint Base Andrews, Trump repeated his criticism, saying, “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo,” and describing him as “a very liberal person” who “doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”
In his Truth Social post, Trump argued that the Catholic leader was focused on “fear” of his administration while ignoring what he described as the persecution of religious figures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also claimed the pope’s election was shaped by the Church’s effort to manage relations with his presidency.
“He wasn’t on any list to be pope and was only put there by the Church because he was an American,” Trump wrote, adding that without his time in office, Leo “wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
Trump also tied his criticism directly to Iran, saying he did not want “a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” and accused the pontiff of taking a soft stance on countries he views as threats.
He also criticized U.S. policy debates linked to Venezuela, claiming the country had “emptied their prisons” into the United States, while portraying the pope as out of step with security concerns.
Before Pezeshkian’s post, the Vatican had already issued its first response to Trump’s criticism through Fr Antonio Spadaro.
Spadaro said the U.S. president was targeting “a moral voice” as Leo prepared to begin a 10-day trip to four African countries.
Writing on X, Spadaro said Trump was attacking the pope because he “cannot contain it.”
“Trump doesn’t debate Leo; he begs him to retreat into a language that he can dominate. But the Pope speaks another language, one that refuses to be reduced to the grammar of force, of security, of national interest,” Spadaro said.
The Vatican response came as the dispute between the pope and the U.S. president widened over war, peace, and Iran.
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