Pope Leo XIV has firmly condemned the killing of protesters in Iran, after criticism from US President Donald Trump last week for not doing so while speaking out against the US-Israel war on Iran, Reuters reports.

Leo, the first US pope, has also decried the deaths of “so many” civilians in the war and laments the collapse of US-Iran peace talks in comments aboard his return flight to Rome after a four-nation Africa tour.

“I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people’s lives,” the pope has said in response to a question in a press conference about reports that Iran has killed thousands of protesters.

“When a regime, when a country takes decisions which takes away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned.”

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