Pope Leo says war on Iran fails Catholic ‘just war’ criteria

Pope Leo said the US-Israel war on Iran does not meet the standards of a “just war” under Catholic teaching, reiterating a position he has previously expressed during a visit to Madrid.

Responding to reporters, the head of the Catholic Church said: “In Iran, the criteria for a just war are not present.”

He added that traditional just war theory was developed in an era when humanity could not imagine the destructive power of modern weapons.

The remarks follow an earlier disagreement with US Vice President JD Vance, who had defended the conflict as a “just war”, a characterisation the pope rejected.