Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday hailed a deal on ending the Middle East war announced between Iran and the United States as the result of “encouraging work in dialogue and negotiation”.

The United States and Iran agreed this week to a deal to end the conflict, and Leo expressed his “gratitude” to those who helped the negotiations.

“I hope that this agreement will contribute to strengthening mutual trust, security, and stability in the Middle East by promoting paths of dialogue and cooperation between peoples,” Leo said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.

The 70-year-old pope also spoke of the “painful” news about the war in Ukraine and prayed for “paths of dialogue… to make a just and lasting peace possible”.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II and has dragged on longer than World War I.

“So many innocent victims, rescuers killed, churches and cultural heritage sites devastated by flames,” Leo said.

“I am close to those mourning their loved ones, to the injured, and to those who, amidst the violence, continue to serve life with courage,” he said.

United States President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon under the deal with the Middle East country.

Trump said this while interacting with reporters on Tuesday on the sideline of the G7 summit in France.

“We have our deal done with Iran. It should be successful. It goes to a second stage, which I think will be easier. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

According to the US President, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must now be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.

Recall that the summit commenced on Monday in Evian, a town on the shores of Lake Geneva in eastern France.


The three-day summit would focus on a range of issues, including the Ukraine crisis, Middle East tensions and the development of artificial intelligence.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that ships were again moving through the Strait of Hormuz and the vital oil route would be “completely open” by Friday, after Washington and Tehran announced a deal to end the Middle East war.

The reopening of one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints would mark a major step toward ending months of deadly conflict and economic turmoil triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

“Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said, adding later that he did not “think we will need much help” keeping the waterway open.

Iran had blockaded the strait since the start of the war, sending oil prices soaring and raising fears of a prolonged inflation shock.

The United States, Iran and mediator Pakistan said the agreement was to be signed Friday in Switzerland.

A senior US administration official, however, said Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had already signed the text electronically.

“The president wanted to sign it personally because he wanted to show his… dedication to bring this through to a successful resolution,” said the official.

Asked at the G7 in France when the text would be released, Trump said: “It’s a very powerful document, and I want it to be released. So probably pretty soon.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the deal brought an “immediate end” to the war, with talks on a “final agreement” to be held within two months.

Iran’s military hailed the accord as a victory, claiming it had “humiliated” the US and Israel, while President Masoud Pezeshkian called it “a great achievement” for the region.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a more cautious note.

“We have a history of broken commitments… we have a history of agreements being torn up. All of this is present in our minds,” he said.


Afp