Pope Francis condemned the Iranian missile attack on the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq on Wednesday and urged all parties to avoid escalating conflicts in the Middle East. The airstrike has heightened tensions due to increased instability across the region since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7, with Iran's allies also joining the fight from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
During the weekly audience at the Vatican, the Pope expressed his condolences and solidarity with the victims, all of whom were civilians, of the missile attack that struck an urban area in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq. He stated, "Good relations between neighbors do not involve such acts, but rather dialogue and cooperation. I ask everyone to avoid any step that would escalate tensions in the Middle East and in other war scenarios."
Pope Francis also called for prayers for "the many victims of war," specifically mentioning Ukraine, Gaza, the Palestinian territories, and Israel.
