President urges Pope to help stop Israeli atrocities in Gaza, Lebanon
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Pope Francis in a letter on Wednesday to help bring an end to Israel’s inhumane aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.
“Encourage world leaders, especially Christian governments, to prevent the continuation of aggression launched by the criminal Israeli regime,” Pezeshkian said.
The message was delivered by an Iranian delegation participating in a religious event held in the Vatican, Iran’s government website said.
Pezeshkian also called for efforts to establish a cease-fire and to create opportunities for humanitarian aid to be sent to the victims.
Referring to the crimes of Israel in Gaza and their extension to Lebanon over the past year, the Iranian president said, “These barbaric attacks are ongoing with no regard for international rights and norms.”
“Genocide and widespread destruction of urban and medical infrastructure are occurring, with a significant portion of martyrs and injured being women, children and civilians.”
Pezeshkian said Iran has been striving to bring about a cease-fire and prevent the escalation of war, as manifested by its delay to respond to Israel’s assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July.
“Due to persistent messages from Western leaders warning that our actions could jeopardize efforts for establishing a cease-fire, we delayed our response,” Pezeshkian said.
“Nevertheless, despite our restraint, the occupying Israeli regime continued its blatant violations of the sovereign rights of regional countries by launching extensive attacks on Lebanon that are still ongoing.”
Last week, Pope Francis suggested that the international community should study whether Israel’s military campaign in Gaza constituted a genocide of the Palestinian people, in some of his most explicit criticism of Israel’s conduct in its year-long war.
The 87-year-old pontiff, leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church, is usually careful not to take sides in international conflicts, and to stress de-escalation. But he has stepped up his rebuke of Israel’s actions and its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.