ROME (AP) — “Today as we all know there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable,” Pope Leo XIV said, adding that any attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law.

In some of his strongest comments yet against the war, Leo urged Americans and other people of good will to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to demand they reject war and work for peace.

The remarks to reporters Tuesday came as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, just hours before Trump’s deadline for Iran to capitulate and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.