President Donald J. Trump campaigned in the 2024 presidential election on establishing a war-free and peaceful stance on foreign affairs.
At a rally in Michigan on Oct. 26, 2024, he stated, “If Kamala wins, only death and destruction await because she is the candidate of endless wars. I am the candidate of peace,” and followed it by saying, “I am peace.”
Tensions between the United States and Iran have been ongoing since the late 1970s due to Iran’s nuclear program alongside its regional influence.
Throughout 2025, the Trump administration has worked towards nuclear talks with Iran, but on June 22, the U.S. attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. On Dec. 29, 2025, Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, said that Iran is at war with the U.S. and Israel.
On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States and Israel bombed Iranian cities and reportedly killed at least 175 people and children. This includes the Ayatollah, otherwise known as the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, along with other highly ranked Iranian officials.
The strikes that killed children reportedly landed on a primary school in Minab, southern Iran, which the U.S. military said was a targeting mistake on their part, as they reportedly were targeting military installations using old data.
According to the United Nations News, the strikes killed “around 150 and wounded almost 100. Many students are believed to be among the dead.”
Iran responded quickly to this, with an Iranian drone attacking six soldiers in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, killing the first Americans in this war on March 1. Additional casualties followed, with six more Americans dead due to a military refueling aircraft crash in Iraq. But the total number of U.S. military personnel injuries and casualties is still unknown.
This war has had consequences not limited to battle, but also global economic damage as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz ensue. This strait in the Persian Gulf is responsible for most of the oil produced globally, and the closure of it could remove up to 20 percent of global oil supplies.
On April 5, Easter Sunday, according to Truth Social, President Trump said that, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the (expletive) Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
On the morning of April 7, President Trump sent out another unhinged message, saying, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
President Trump’s rhetoric on the war has primarily caused panic, chaos, and concern throughout the government and the people.
Many have taken action online against President Trump’s comments, but in particular statements referencing the 25th Amendment from people such as Senator of Connecticut Chris Murphy (D), Senator of Washington Patty Murray (D), Representative of Arizona Yassamin Ansari (D), Former Representative of Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene (R), and American conservative political activist and commentator Tucker Carlson have arisen.
Pope Leo XIV has also spoken on the war, recalling his appeal for peace on Easter and rejecting wars, saying, “especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate, and which is not resolving anything.”
Pope Leo invited civilians to remind their politicians that attacking civilian infrastructure is a “sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction human beings are capable of, and we all want to work for peace.”
On the afternoon of April 7—nearing President Trump’s proposed deadline for the total destruction of Iran—the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commented via an X post to push towards a ceasefire: “Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future. To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”
Following this, at 3:32 p.m. the same day, Trump announced on Truth Social that this plan was something he could agree to, thus agreeing to a two-week ceasefire: “We received a 10- point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two- week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
This will allow for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened and oil shipment routes to begin again. But it remains unclear if this will lead to a lasting peace plan in this conflict.
This conflict has rapidly become a reality of daily life for millions of people around the world. Its effects are widespread, from families struggling with economic burdens as fuel prices rise, to those who have lost loved ones as a direct result of the fights. It is concerning how quickly this war has escalated within the last six weeks–and a need for peace, a need for an end to it, is essential.
It is unfair to allow people to suffer due to conflicts from political hostility, regional power struggles, and nuclear tensions.
Pope Leo’s first words in his address to the public on Easter were, “Peace be with all of you!” It is ironic how some world leaders are calling for the death of a civilization, while others call for peace. We, as a society and in our own humanity, should not strive for war or violence, but rather embrace Pope Leo’s call for peace.
