STORY: :: Pope Leo urges Trump to find an 'off-ramp' to end the Iran war
:: Castel Gandolfo, Italy / March 31, 2026
"I'm told that President Trump has recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully he's looking for an off-ramp. Hopefully he's looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence and bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that's being created and is increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere. So I would certainly continue to give this call to all leaders of the world and say, come back to the table for dialogue. Let's look for solutions to problems. Let's look for ways to reduce the amount of violence that we're promoting."
Leo, who is known for choosing his words carefully, rarely makes direct appeals to national leaders but he has been stepping up criticism of the Iran war in recent weeks.
On Sunday, in unusually forceful remarks, the pope said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have "hands full of blood."
The month-long Iran conflict, started by joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.
Leo lamented on Tuesday the number of people who have been killed and said he hoped the violence could end before Easter on April 5.
