Vatican Urges Iran to Refrain From Escalating Middle East Conflict

The Vatican urged Iran this week to avoid escalating the current conflicts in the Middle East.

On Monday, Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said that Iran should refrain “in every way” from adding to the conflict in the Middle East amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

According to the Associated Press (AP), Cardinal Parolin spoke on the phone with Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian and called on the nation to use dialogue and peace negotiations in responding to the Middle East conflict.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been engaged in a war with Hamas in Gaza, which has also sparked other conflicts throughout the Middle East. Last month, Hamas and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran after attending the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president.

In response to Haniyeh’s killing, Iran vowed revenge with the Iranian Mission to the United Nations saying: “The response to an assassination will indeed be special operations—harder and intended to instill deep regret in the perpetrator.”

Following the call between Parolin and Pezeshkian, the Vatican released a statement saying that the Cardinal “expressed the Holy See’s serious concern about what is happening in the Middle East, reiterating the need to avoid in any way the widening of the very serious conflict underway and preferring instead dialogue, negotiation and peace.”

Since the start of the war in Gaza, the Vatican has attempted to maintain a balanced stance. While it has reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and urged Hamas to release the hostages taken on October 7, the Vatican has also called for a cease-fire, an end to the conflict and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Following the assassination of Haniyeh, Iran and Hezbollah are widely expected to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel over the killing of officials in Iran and Beirut.

On Friday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy (IRGCN) issued a warning announcing new cruise missiles equipped with highly explosive warheads that are undetectable.

“In today’s world, you either have to be powerful to survive or surrender. There’s no middle ground,” said the Guards’ top commander, Major-General Hossein Salami.

“A large number of cruise missiles have been added to the Guards’ navy fleet. These new missiles have capabilities of highly explosive warheads that are undetectable and can cause extensive damage and sink their targets,” a Guards statement said.