Pope Leo XIV has issued an urgent call for peace in the Middle East, urging dialogue after a deadly military operation killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
Pope Leo XIV spoke plainly, emphasizing that stability and peace cannot be achieved through mutual threats or the use of weapons, which only bring destruction. “Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue,” stated Pope Leo. He called for "reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue," urging all parties to step back before the situation becomes irreversible. “I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm,” the Pope warned.
His words come at a moment when tensions in the Middle East have reached a critical point, drawing widespread international concern about the possibility of a broader, more devastating conflict. Operation Epic Fury, as the US dubbed it, and Roar of the Lion, as Israel called it, struck Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's office at the Beit Rahbari compound in central Tehran on the night of February 28 and killed him and several other key leaders on the spot. The attack used bunker-buster munitions and targeted Iran's political leadership, military infrastructure, and nuclear facilities simultaneously. Over 200 people were killed and hundreds more injured across Iran, including senior IRGC commanders and members of Khamenei's own family.
Tehran hit back hard, firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and US military bases across the Gulf, including sites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Following these retaliatory attacks from both sides, Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued urgent safety advisories urging Kenyans in Iran, Israel, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq to exercise extreme caution amid escalating conflict. The government has ordered the immediate evacuation of Kenyan nationals from Israel and Iran, while Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs Roseline Njogu mandated all citizens in the region to register with nearby embassies for emergency assistance.
Following a missile strike near the Kenyan Embassy in Tel Aviv, officials reaffirmed diplomatic mission protections under international law. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi urged all parties to pursue dialogue and to use the UN Charter mechanisms. Pope Leo ended by calling for diplomacy to be restored to its rightful place in international affairs amidst the conflict, insisting that the well-being of ordinary people who simply want to live in peace must be protected, while also calling for Christian faithfuls around the world to pray for the other war-torn countries such as Ukraine, Gaza, and Pakistan.
