Trump lashes out at Pope over stance on Iran war

US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised Pope Leo XIV over his position on the conflict with Iran, saying he is "terrible for foreign policy".

Source: CNN

Quote: "We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's OK to have a nuclear weapon… He's a man that doesn't think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world. I'm not a fan of Pope Leo."

Details: Trump made the remarks to journalists at Joint Base Andrews shortly after posting a lengthy critical post about the Pope on his social media platform Truth Social.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," he wrote, adding that he does not want a pope who considers it acceptable for Iran to possess nuclear weapons or who thinks it was "terrible that America attacked Venezuela".

"And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States," Trump added.

Background:

• Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, has increasingly spoken out on the war involving the US and Israel against Iran. He condemned Trump's rhetoric and threats towards the Iranian people last week as "completely unacceptable".
• According to Politico, Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation, Pope Leo said that the US-Israeli war against Iran is fuelled by a "delusion of omnipotence" and called on political leaders to immediately halt hostilities.
• "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!" he said.

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