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Trump doubles down in criticizing Pope Leo over Iran

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April 14, 2026 11:47 PM EDT

FILE PHOTO: News photographers wait for U.S. President Donald Trump to walk out of the Oval Office to speak with reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 13, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - ‌U.S. President ​Donald Trump, ​whose war and immigration policies have been condemned by Pope Leo, reiterated his criticism of the religious leader on Tuesday night.

In ‌a post on Truth Social, Trump urged that "someone please tell Pope ⁠Leo" about the killings of protesters by Iran and that "for Iran to have a Nuclear ‌Bomb is absolutely unacceptable."

The U.S. ‌and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on ​Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Iran does not have nuclear weapons while the U.S. does. Israel is widely ⁠believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with nuclear weapons.

While Western countries have long believed that ​Iran wants a nuclear bomb - or at least the ability to make one very quickly - Tehran has always denied that, citing ​its membership of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Trump's ‌comments come after Pope Leo warned earlier in the day of the risk of democracies sliding into "majoritarian tyranny".

The first U.S. ⁠pope, Leo wrote in a letter issued by the Vatican about the use of power in democratic societies, and said democracies remained healthy only when they were rooted ⁠in moral values.

The pope has criticized Trump’s decision to launch the war against Iran, saying ​God rejects the prayers of those who launch wars and have "hands full of blood." The pope termed Trump's threat this month to destroy the Iranian civilization as unacceptable and ‌previously declined to join the U.S. president's so-called "Board of Peace" initiative for Gaza.

The religious leader has also urged a "deep reflection" ‌on the way migrants are treated in the U.S. while Trump has pursued a ⁠hardline immigration policy.

On Sunday, Trump ‌called the pope "weak" and "terrible" ​on crime and foreign policy issues.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul and ‌Kim Coghill)


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