President Donald Trump on April 14 directly addressed Pope Leo XIV in another Truth Social post, drawing attention to the Iranian regime’s reported killing of thousands of protesters in the past two months.
“Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable,” he wrote.
Protests in Iran erupted in late December 2025 over economic hardships and quickly turned into broader anti-government demonstrations, Zeale News previously reported. Iranian security forces reportedly responded with live ammunition against the crowds. Death tolls following the protests varied widely, with the Iranian government reporting roughly 3,000 deaths, while independent monitoring groups documented significantly higher tolls that reached the tens of thousands.
Pope Leo addressed the situation in Iran before the war began, expressing concern during his Jan. 11 Angelus address over “ongoing tensions” that “continue to claim many lives” in the Middle East, “especially in Iran and Syria.” He added that he hopes and prays that “dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society.”
Trump’s latest post came days after he criticized Pope Leo in an April 12 Truth Social message, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” in response to the Holy Father’s opposition to the war in Iran. As Zeale News previously reported, Trump also claimed credit for Pope Leo’s election to the papacy and said he doesn’t “want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
Separately, on April 12, Trump posted an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image depicting himself performing a Christ-like healing. He later deleted the post after it drew swift backlash from Christians. Trump denied the image portrayed him as a religious figure, telling reporters it was “me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross,” Zeale News reported.
On April 13, Pope Leo told reporters he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and would continue speaking out against the war, advocating for peace, and “promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”
The Holy Father has repeatedly called for a ceasefire since the Iran war began Feb. 28. After Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly referenced God in connection with the war, the Pontiff has also warned against invoking religion to justify conflict, Pope Leo said God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage wars” and have “hands full of blood.” He also criticized Trump’s April 7 threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” if Tehran did not agree to U.S. demands.