Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has brushed off Pope Leo’s criticism of the Iran conflict, insisting the United States has clear legal justification for its military action. Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing marking the eighth week of the US-Israeli led war, Hegseth said: “Pope’s gonna do his thing, that’s fine. We know what our mission is, we know what authority we have.”
Hegseth, who has previously invoked Christianity to justify the war, dismissed suggestions that the US lacks moral or legal grounds. He assured reporters that military lawyers were “all over the place” to ensure orders from President Donald Trump were lawful. The defence secretary has a history of using religious language in public, including reciting Bible verses and a quote from the film Pulp Fiction at press conferences.
Pope Leo has repeatedly condemned the conflict, accusing leaders of using God’s name “to justify death-dealing choices” and calling Trump’s threat to “wipe out” Iranian civilisation “truly unacceptable”. In response, Trump said he is “not a fan” of the pope and later posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure, which he claimed depicted him as a “doctor”. Vice President JD Vance, a practising Catholic, has also pushed back against the pope, warning him to “be careful” on theological matters.
