Pope Leo slams Trump's threat to entire Iran population as 'unacceptable'

Pope Leo XIV said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilisation was “truly unacceptable” and said any attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law.

In some of his strongest comments yet against the war, Leo urged Americans and other people of good will to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to demand they reject war and work for peace.

“Today as we all know there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable,” he said.

On Tuesday, President Trump warned that "a whole civilisation will die" in Iran if the country does not heed his ultimatum to accept US war demands.

Iran rejects ceasefire proposal

"A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The American leader did not give details, but he has already said the US military could bomb Iran's bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure into the "stone age."

Trump has announced a deadline of midnight GMT on Tuesday for Iran to end its de facto closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow, strategic waterway used to transport oil and other commodities.

Iran has rejected US pressure, with state media reporting that the authorities are insisting that, instead of just a ceasefire, it wants a full end to the war.