The US President Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV for opposing the war in Iran, and then posted a photo of himself as Jesus healing people.
It all started when Leo XIV declared during his evening prayer on April 11 that the war in the Middle East was fueled by the “illusion of omnipotence” and called for peace talks. The pope did not mention the United States or Trump in his prayer, but the tone and content of the message were clearly addressed to him and American officials.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” his address read.
As Politico notes, the Vatican is particularly concerned about the consequences of Israelʼs war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, given the plight of Christian communities in the south.
In response, Trump posted an emotional post, saying that Pope Leo is “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy”. He also added that he liked his brother Louis much better because “Louis is totally MAGA”.
"I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History," he wrote.
The US president added that Leo led the church “just because he’s an American and they thought it was the best way to interact with President Donald J. Trump”. He then posted an AI-generated photo of himself as Jesus healing the sick.
War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US
On the morning of February 28, the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials — were killed.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed. This led to a sharp increase in oil and gas prices.
On the night of April 8, Trump wrote that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Later, Iran published a 10-point peace plan: under it, the parties would cease hostilities, the US would withdraw troops from the Middle East and would no longer attack Iranian bases, and ships would have limited access to the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks. Iran would also be required to lift primary and secondary sanctions and compensate for losses. Iran would commit not to developing nuclear weapons, and the US would recognize Iranʼs right to enrich uranium.
But on the afternoon of April 8, the Prime Minister of Pakistan said that ceasefire violations had been recorded in several places in the conflict zone in the Middle East. Reuters sources reported that Iran had struck the East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which is currently the only channel for exporting crude oil from the country, and other facilities. Before that, Iran announced an American attack on the refinery on Laban Island and threatened to respond.
At the same time, Israel launched its largest attack on Lebanon since the start of the new war: in 10 minutes, the Israeli army attacked more than 100 sites of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, killing more than 350 people. Israel claims that the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon, while Pakistani mediators wrote that the cessation of hostilities also applies to Lebanon.
Negotiations between the United States and Iran took place in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on April 11-12. They lasted almost 21 hours. The parties failed to reach an agreement on a final end to the war, with the Americans citing Iranʼs reluctance to give up its nuclear program as the main reason.
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