Iranian president sides with Pope Leo as row over Trump’s ‘Jesus’ image explodes | World | News
Iran has sided with Pope Leo XIV after Donald Trump lashed out at the head of the Catholic Church twice on Sunday. The Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, also spoke about the bizarre AI-generated image published by the US leader overnight that depicted him as Jesus Christ.
In a message posted on X, the President of Iran wrote, addressing the Pope directly: “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person. I wish you glory by Allah.”
This comes after Mr Trump accused the Pope of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a bizarre rant on his social media platform Truth Social.
He added: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. 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.”
The Holy Father said he would continue to call for peace and promote dialogue amid Mr Trump’s ongoing campaign in the Middle East.
He told Reuters: “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”
He told The Associated Press: “To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think, is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is.
“And I’m sorry to hear that, but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
