Ayatollah Calls for Papal Intervention Amid Rising Tensions in West Asia

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has written to Pope Leo XIV condemning US-Israeli military actions against Iran. He highlighted attacks including a girls' school bombing in Minab that killed 170 students. Alireza Arafi urged moral intervention from the Pope, emphasizing the need for international condemnation against these war crimes.

In a critical diplomatic appeal, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, Director of Iranian Seminaries, has formally reached out to Pope Leo XIV, following the controversial US-Israeli strikes on Iran. In his letter, he implores the Pope to publicly denounce what he claims are 'war crimes' committed during these military operations.

The letter, as reported by Tasnim News Agency, deeply mourns the attack on a girls' elementary school in Minab, which tragically ended the lives of approximately 170 young students. Ayatollah Arafi expressed profound grief and highlighted an urgent need for global spiritual leaders to speak out against such violence.

Ayatollah Arafi's message follows the reported death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's former Supreme Leader, during these strikes, sparking a call for Pope Leo XIV to uphold the moral duty of condemning these actions. He underscored the escalating tension in West Asia, which has drawn a stern warning from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the threat to international peace.

(With inputs from agencies.)