Pope Calls Trump's Iran Threat 'Truly Unacceptable' As Pentagon Denies Clash Between Leo, Trump

CHICAGO — Less than a year ago, Chicago native Robert Prevost was named the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church. At the time, President Donald Trump called it a "great honor for our country," congratulating the Vatican for selecting Prevost, who became known as Leo XIV.

Following a social media post by Trump earlier this week threatening Iran by saying a "whole civilization will die," Leo has ramped up his criticism of the president and his rhetoric, while the Pentagon is denying reports of friction between the pontiff and the president.

On Friday, though Leo didn't specifically refer to Trump, he did say, "God does not bless any conflict" as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues a two-week ceasefire in a conflict that started on Feb. 28.

The latest statement by Leo follows nearly a week of similar sentiments, including one during Easter Sunday Mass where he urged world leaders to "let those who have weapons lay them down."

"Today as we all know, there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable," Leo said Tuesday regarding Trump's post on Truth Social.

The Free Press is reporting tensions between the Vatican and Washington have been "building for months" with a top Vatican diplomat reportedly summoned to the Pentagon by senior U.S. defense officials in January.

Anonymous Vatican officials described the meeting to the media outlet as "a bitter lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants — and that the Church had better take its side."

Both the Pentagon and Vatican have questioned the veracity of the Free Press story, with the former calling the meeting instead "substantive, respectful, and professional." The Department of War also described the reporting as "highly distorted and exaggerated."

On Friday, the Vatican also released a statement that confirmed the meeting happened but that the "narrative does not correspond to the truth at all."