Vatican demands immediate Middle East truce

2026-03-15 - 15:14

Shafaq News- Vatican City Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, warning that the human toll of the conflict is staggering and that violence cannot deliver lasting peace or stability. At the conclusion of Sunday Mass, the pope appealed on behalf of Christians in the region and all people of goodwill, urging leaders to halt hostilities and reopen channels for dialogue. “Violence can never produce the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for,” he remarked. While he did not directly name the United States or Israel, Pope Leo XIV referred to a missile strike on an elementary school in Iran’s Hormozgan province, which killed more than 165 people, most of them children. A US military investigation later confirmed that the attack was carried out by American forces using a Tomahawk cruise missile. The conflict intensified after joint US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets on February 28, which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders. In retaliation, Iran launched operations that extended across the region, affecting Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.