Pope urges Israel and Iran to show restraint and pursue dialogue

Speaking from St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, the pope said he was following the rising tensions with “great concern”.

“In such a delicate moment, I strongly wish to renew an appeal to responsibility and to reason,” he told the gathering.

He urged all nations to help build a “safer world free from the nuclear threat” through “respectful encounters and sincere dialogue”.

“No one should ever threaten the existence of another,” he said, adding that peace must be grounded in justice, dignity and reconciliation