Pope Leo made an emotional appeal to the world regarding the situation in the East

The Pope, on Sunday, during his weekly address to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, stated that he is following developments with deep concern and called on the parties to stop the "spiral of violence." He said this during his speech, according to UNN with reference to Sky News.

In his address, the pontiff emphasized that the parties to the confrontation must "take moral responsibility" and stop the escalation "before it becomes an irreparable abyss."

I make a heartfelt appeal to the parties involved in the conflict to take moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it turns into an irreversible abyss.

He also stressed that the path to stability and peace does not lie through threats or the use of force.

Stability and peace are not built on mutual threats or with weapons... but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue.

Context

It should be recalled that the end of February 2026 in Iran was marked by two parallel events: a new wave of student protests and a sharp military escalation around the country.

After the resumption of classes, student protests began in a number of universities, which quickly spread to new campuses. Reports spoke of anti-government slogans and clashes with security forces, including the volunteer formations "Basij" associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. At the same time, the authorities publicly emphasized "red lines," and disciplinary measures against participants (including suspension) and prosecutorial oversight of cases were also reported.

At the end of the month, anti-government demonstrations were recorded in various provinces during 40-day memorial events, which traditionally become a point of mobilization after high-profile deaths.

On February 28, international media reported large-scale US and Israeli strikes on targets in Iran and explosions in several cities. Against this background, Reuters described panic, queues at gas stations, attempts by people to leave cities, and the temporary closure of educational institutions.

And in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on March 1, six protesters died and 20 more people were injured during an attempt to storm the well-fortified US consulate complex. Later it became known that the death toll rose to 9 people.