Pope Leo XIV condemned the killing of protesters in Iran.

• Pope Leo condemned the killing of protesters in Iran.
• US President Donald Trump has attacked Leo on social media.
• The pope emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war.

Pope Leo on Thursday firmly condemned the killing of protesters in Iran, after US President Donald Trump criticised the Catholic leader last week for not doing so while speaking out against the US-Israel war with Iran.

Leo, the first US pope, also decried the deaths of “so many” ‌civilians in the war and lamented 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 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 take away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that ⁠is something that should be condemned,” he said.

Trump attacked Leo on social media as “terrible” on 12 April, after the pope emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war and the president’s hardline anti-immigration policies.

READ | Pope Leo warns of democracies sliding into ‘majoritarian tyranny’ after Trump attack

In a post two days later, Trump asked “will someone please tell Pope Leo” about the deaths of Iranian protesters.

Iranian authorities killed thousands of people during anti-government protests in January, Iran’s worst domestic unrest since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Rights groups say the government has continued to crack down on opponents while war rages, with Tehran carrying out another execution this week.

AFP reported that Iran hanged a man on Thursday after he was convicted of membership in a banned opposition group and alleged collaboration with Israel, the judiciary said.

“Sultan-Ali Shirzadi-Fakhr was hanged early this morning for membership in the terrorist group” of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation (MEK) and “collaboration with the Israeli regime’s spy service”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.

And on Wednesday, Iran hanged a man convicted of links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said, the latest in a string of executions against the backdrop of the war with Israel and the US.

“Mehdi Farid... was hanged this morning for extensive cooperation with the terrorist spy service Mossad after the case was examined and the final verdict was approved,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

Leo did not mention Trump in his remarks on Thursday.

He said that as the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church, he does not support war.

“As a pastor, ‌I ⁠cannot be in favour of war,” he said, adding that he carries with him a photo of a child killed by Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Leo said the child had been among the crowds that greeted him during his visit to Lebanon in November and December, as part of the pope’s first overseas trip.

“We have seen so many innocents killed,” Leo said of the war.

Referring to ⁠the recent breakdown in peace talks, the pope said: “One day Iran says yes, the United States says no and vice versa. We don’t know where it will go.”

“It has created a situation that is still chaotic … and also there is the whole population of Iran, innocent ⁠people, who are suffering because of this war,” he said.

Leo on Thursday also defended his decision to visit countries in Africa known for having authoritarian leaders.

Two of the countries the pope visited, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, have leaders who have ⁠been in power for decades.

He said the Vatican maintains diplomatic relationships with authoritarian regimes.

“We don’t always make great proclamations … but there’s an awful lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to promote justice,” said the pope.

He said the Vatican works “so that the lives of people can be improved”.