"Truly unacceptable": Pope Leo XIV on Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation

"There are certainly issues of international law here, but much more. It's a moral issue, for the good of the people entirely," Pope Leo said outside Castel Gandolfo, a papal retreat about an hour's drive southeast from central Rome.

As per CNN, the Pope then reiterated his Easter message, calling people "to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war which is continuing to escalate and which is not resolving anything."

This comes after US President Donald Trump issued a series of provocative statements on his Truth Social platform, suggesting a monumental shift in the geopolitical landscape.

In those posts, he warned of potential unprecedented destruction while simultaneously hinting at a transition of power within Iran.

"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, reflecting the gravity of the ongoing military standoff amidst reports of US strikes on Kharg Island and other strategic Iranian infrastructure.

Despite the ominous warning, the President suggested that a new political reality might be emerging in Tehran. He claimed that "now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?"

Trump framed the current escalation as the culmination of a decades-long period of hostility between the two nations. He stated, "We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end."

The President ended his message with a note of support for the Iranian populace, writing, "God Bless the Great People of Iran!" as the world awaits the outcome of the 8:00 PM Eastern Time deadline. (ANI)