Spoken out against the war several times: Pope Leo XIV.Image: EPA ANSA
The pontiff warns, Beijing mediates: Two unexpected actors could have contributed to the ceasefire in Iran.
04/09/2026, 09:2904/09/2026, 09:29
Dominik Straub, Rome and Fabian Kretschmer, Seoul / ch media
“As we all know, today there was also this threat against the entire Iranian people, and that is really unacceptable,” said Leo XIV on Tuesday evening. Although the Pope did not directly mention Donald Trump by name on this occasion, it was completely clear who he was referring to: On the same day, the US President had threatened that “an entire civilization would perish” if Iran allowed an ultimatum he had set to pass by late in the evening.
The threat was so massive that there were European politicians who even believed a US nuclear strike against Iran was possible, such as Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. And perhaps the Pope also had such apocalyptic fears.
Trump threatens Iranian civilization in his post.Image: Screenshot Truth Social
As we have known since Tuesday night, the threatened collapse of Iranian civilization has at least been postponed: the US President agreed to a two-week ceasefire and last-minute negotiations on a peace solution. It is unknown whether and to what extent the clear words of his compatriot Robert Francis Prevost, alias Leo XIV, influenced the decision.
What is certain, however, is that the voice of the first pope from the USA is being heard widely in his homeland, and not just among Catholics. It was not for nothing that Leo
On Palm Sunday, the Pope emphasized that God should not be used to justify wars. This is exactly what self-proclaimed warriors of God like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism, are doing in Washington.
Overall, Pope Leo XIV has so far generally stuck to all his appeals and exercised restraint. With Trump’s threat to wipe out an entire civilization, the last straw has now come for the Pontiff Maximus.
Leo XIV also made no secret of his opinion of a possible attack on Iranian power plants or oil facilities by US bombers. “Attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law,” the Pope emphasized on Tuesday. From his point of view, they are “also a sign of the cursed, of the division, of the destruction that humans are capable of.”
China is discovering its diplomatic weight
The Pope was not the only outsider who influenced the US President regarding Iran. When Trump announced the temporary ceasefire, he surprisingly also paid respect to China: Beijing, of all places, is said to have brought the Iranians to the negotiating table through a “last-minute intervention”. Iranian representatives also describe it this way.
China’s President Xi Jinping also has a dual role with Iran.Image: keystone
This seems to confirm a development that is becoming increasingly obvious under President Xi Jinping: China, which previously acted extremely cautiously and risk-aversely in the foreign policy arena, now wants to increasingly assert its diplomatic influence.
But you obviously want to make a big splash. The Chinese Foreign Ministry remained conspicuously tight-lipped on Wednesday. Spokeswoman Mao Ning simply said that the People’s Republic had supported the mediation efforts by Pakistan and other countries and had always advocated for a ceasefire.
In fact, very little information from the Chinese government apparatus about its diplomatic activities in the Middle East is made public. But there should be no question that China’s intervention was primarily intended to secure its own national interests.
On the one hand, Beijing is by no means a neutral or idealistic player. “China is helping Iran rebuild its missile program,” said a recent report from the Washington Institute for the Study of War.
And for years, the People’s Republic has reliably bought around 90 percent of the crude oil that Iran exports – thereby offering the mullahs’ regime economic security. The technology that Tehran uses to censor its own Internet and monitor its population also likely comes largely from China.
But while China clearly supports its strategic ally Iran, it has no interest in a war that spirals out of control. If Trump were to carry out his threat to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure, this would also affect China as a buyer of the crude oil. In addition, the war would also weaken global consumption in the long term, especially in Europe – the most important importer of Chinese goods. (aargauerzeitung.ch)