Pope calls for end to 'spiral of violence' in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the "spiral of violence" in the Middle East, after the United States and Israel began an attack on Iran that prompted retaliatory strikes.

"Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I appeal to the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable chasm," the pope told a crowd in St Peter's Square.

"Stability and peace are not built through mutual threats or with weapons, which sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through reasonable, genuine, and responsible dialogue," the first US-born pontiff said during his weekly Angelus prayer.

"May diplomacy recover its role and may the good of peoples be promoted," he added.

The head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics also called for an "urgent return to dialogue" between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have clashed in recent days.