Iran “remains committed to diplomacy and peaceful solutions,” the country’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said in a message to Pope Leo XIV, Iranian state media reported, Anadolu broadcasts.

Pezeshkian also expressed Tehran’s appreciation for the Catholic leader’s “moral and logical stance against recent military aggressions against Iran,” the IRNA news agency said.

Iran struck US and Israeli targets “within legitimate self-defense,” the president said, calling on the international community to “act responsibly against America’s illegal actions.”

Regional tensions have escalated since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. In response, Tehran launched attacks on Israel as well as Washington’s allies in the Persian Gulf, along with closing the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire came into effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. US President Donald Trump then extended the ceasefire for an indefinite period.

Source: prizrenpost