While Donald Trump raises the possibility of ending the ceasefire and reopening the conflict with Tehran, the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, addresses Pope Leo XIV with a letter, as reported by the Iranian Mehr news agency. Pezeshkian asks the Pope to oppose the actions of the United States and Israel, accusing them of having committed “clear war crimes” with the offensive launched against the Islamic Republic.
«Israeli-American aggression resulted in the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, important political and military figures and 3,468 citizens, with extensive damage to schools, universities, hospitals, places of worship and infrastructure. These are clear war crimes.” This is what we read in the letter, as reported by the Mehr agency.
The Iranian president cites Koranic and biblical passages that condemn arrogance and praises the Pope’s “moral, logical and just positions” on the attack by Israel and the USA. “The US president’s stated intent to ‘destroy Iran’s historical civilization’ revealed an illusion of absolute power,” Pezeshkian says. Who points out that Iran’s different religious communities have coexisted peacefully for centuries and that Iran has never threatened its neighbors. However, the use of US bases in the coastal states of the Persian Gulf for attacks forced Iranian forces to strike the attackers’ interests in that area in self-defense.
Regular transit through the Strait of Hormuz will be restored once there is no longer any insecurity. Pezeshkian reaffirms Iran’s commitment to the diplomatic path and talks mediated by Pakistan. «Iran’s position is contrary to the illegal requests of the US Government and a position in defense of international law and high human values», writes the Iranian president again, asking for an international response to counter US requests.
Heart surgeon before becoming a politician, 71 year old Masoud Pezseshkian was elected president of the Islamic Republic in 2024.
It seems that Donald Trump – just returned from a trip to China where he met President Xi Jinping – has never been so close – since the beginning of the ceasefire – to resuming the military offensive against Iran as today. Speaking to the press on Air Force One returning from a visit to China, the US president said that the United States had “wiped out their (Iran’s) effectively armed forces”. Now, he added, “we could having to do some cleaning because we had a little ceasefire for a month.”
The truce began in early April and, although it was in fact respected, tension has always remained very high with the possibility, at any time, to resume military actions.
While in Beijing Trump and Xi Jinping spoke about the need to guarantee free passage through the Strait of Hormuz in their meeting, Tehran defined new protocols to facilitate the transit of Chinese ships through the Strait.
