Advertisement

Vatican Urges Iran to Avoid "in any way" Escalating Conflict in Middle East

By Courtney Mares

Rome Newsroom, 12 August, 2024 / 7:25 pm (ACI Africa).

The Vatican has urged Iran to avoid escalating “in any way” the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, spoke on the phone on Monday morning with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in a conversation that underlined the need for dialogue, negotiation, and peace. 

According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, the cardinal “expressed the Holy See’s serious concern about what is happening in the Middle East, reiterating the need to avoid in any way the widening of the very serious ongoing conflict and preferring instead dialogue, negotiation, and peace.”

The Aug. 12 phone call by the Vatican secretary of state to congratulate the Iranian president on beginning his term in office occurred as the threat of a retaliatory attack by Iran looms.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East amid reports that Iran may attack within days, The Guardian reported Monday.

Advertisement

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said in a statement on his official website that revenge is “our duty” following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that it is on high alert for potential retaliation from Iran and its proxies.

The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been working to broker an agreement to end the Israel-Hamas war.

Pezeshkian assumed office in Tehran at the end of July after winning Iran’s runoff presidential election as a reformist candidate promising to reach out to the West. As president, Pezeshkian is the top elected official and second in rank to Iran’s supreme leader, who wields power as commander-in-chief and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran is one of the least Catholic countries in the world. Conversion from Islam to Christianity can be a crime meriting a sentence of more than 10 years of imprisonment. 

More in Vatican

Pope Francis general audience

Pope Francis Calls for Study of Church History Free from Ideologies

Read the article

The Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Tehran-Isfahan has six parishes and approximately 2,000 Catholics. Archbishop Dominique Mathieu serves as the current archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan.

At Pope Francis’ most recent general audience, the Holy Father said he was following the situation in the Middle East with great concern.

“I reiterate my appeal to all the parties involved that the conflict does not spread and that there may be an immediate cease-fire on all fronts, starting with Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is very serious and unsustainable,” Pope Francis said Aug. 7.

“I pray that the sincere search for peace will extinguish strife, love will overcome hatred, and vengeance will be disarmed by forgiveness.”

Courtney Mares

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.

Trending

You may also like

The Vatican and Microsoft have created a 3D digital model of St. Peter’s Basilica using the latest in artificial intelligence to offer a new way to experience the nearly 2,000-year history of the tomb of St. Peter. / Credit: Microsoft La Basilica Di San Pietro: AI-Enhanced Experience

Discover the History of St. Peter’s Basilica in New Microsoft Oline AI-enhanced 3D Model

Accessible worldwide at virtual.basilicasanpietro.va, the free interactive platform allows anyone in the world to “visit” the virtual 3D model of...

An external view of the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem during the procession of the Franciscan friars after the first vespers of the Ascension solemnity on May 8, 2024. The procession circled the chapel three times. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Catholics Ascend to Mount Olives, Site of Jesus’ Ascension, Only Day They Can Use Chapel Currently Under Muslim Control

“I’m excited to have come to pray in the actual place of the Ascension... I want to be closer to...

Pope Francis arriving at the meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and catechists in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Sept. 10, 2024. / Vatican Media

Catholics in East Timor Welcome Pope Francis to their Island "oasis" of Religious Vocations

Speaking in Dili's cathedral, Pope Francis challenged East Timor's Catholic leaders to renew evangelization efforts, declaring that the nation's position...