Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned remarks made by Donald Trump about Pope Leo XIV, describing them as both insulting to the pontiff and offensive to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The controversy began after Trump said he was “not a big fan” of the pope, labelling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” His comments followed criticism from Pope Leo XIV regarding ongoing conflicts involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, with Trump accusing the pontiff of unfairly targeting his administration while ignoring restrictions placed on religious gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He went further to characterise the pope as overly liberal and suggested that his stance on issues like Iran’s nuclear ambitions was unacceptable, even implying that the pontiff’s position in the Vatican was tied to his own political influence.
In a public response shared on X, Pezeshkian defended the pope, stating that the criticism amounted to a desecration of Jesus Christ, whom he described as a prophet of peace and brotherhood, and emphasised that such statements were unacceptable to “any free person.”
“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), 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.” He wrote on X
The diplomatic tension comes amid already strained relations following a U.S.-Israel coordinated military action against Iran earlier in the year under Operation Epic Fury, which prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran across parts of the Gulf region. Efforts to ease tensions through a recent reconciliation meeting in Islamabad ended without agreement, further underscoring the fragile geopolitical climate surrounding the dispute.
