By Christine Persichette
Pope Leo XIV is urging world leaders to halt escalating violence in the Middle East as the United States and Israel continue a coordinated military offensive against Iran.
“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm,” the pope said.
The U.S. and Israel launched what officials described as a massive, coordinated attack aimed at dismantling the Iranian regime and its nuclear program. Several U.S. service members have been killed. President Donald Trump warned that additional American casualties are possible as Operation Epic Fury continues.
“Send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” Trump said. “And sadly there will likely be more before it ends, that’s the way it is.”
Military analysts say the trajectory of the conflict may now hinge on Iran’s next moves.
“Where does this go? In many ways it’s not up to the president, nor is it up to Netanyahu,” said retired Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy. “It’s up to the Iranians.”
Since the start of the war, deaths and destruction have been reported in Iran and Israel, as well as in other parts of the Middle East. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against several neighboring countries, including U.S.-allied Gulf states.
With Iran’s supreme leader, defense minister and other senior officials reported dead, the regime has formed a provisional leadership council and indicated a new supreme leader could be selected soon.
“This is a regime whose existence is at stake, and it’s doing the only thing that it knows to do, which is to lash out violently,” said Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an Iran expert.
As fighting intensifies, U.S. bishops are joining Pope Leo in calling Catholics to prayer “for peace in the Middle East, for the safety of our troops and the innocent, that leaders may seek dialogue over destruction, and pursue the common good over the tragedy of war.”
The pope again emphasized diplomacy as the only path forward.
“May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld,” he said. “And let us continue to pray for peace.”