Pope says he has ‘no fear of Trump administration’ after president slams his Iran war criticism

Pope Leo XIV on Monday strongly pushed back against criticism from US President Donald Trump, defending his position of seeking peace and rejecting violence amid the Iran war.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do,” the pontiff told reporters aboard his plane where he was starting a 10-day trip to the African continent.

“We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective (as) he might understand it,” he continued. “But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”

The comments came after Trump tore into the pope on Sunday evening, denouncing his stance on the Iran war and saying he’s “terrible for foreign policy.”

“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump told reporters, adding, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”

Leo, the first American pope, has become increasingly vocal about the US and Israel’s war with Iran, last week condemning Trump’s rhetoric and threats against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”

That comment was prompted by Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in the hours before a two-week ceasefire with Iran was struck.

Both Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have invoked God in public messaging during the conflict, with Hegseth framing the war effort as divinely supported and even using scriptural justification.

Leo has repeatedly pushed back against this idea.