Hawzah News Agency- Iran's ambassador to the Vatican, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, has sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV condemning Washington's cruel and inhumane measures and warning about the impact of US-imposed restrictions on ordinary people's lives.
In the letter, Mokhtari stressed that political decisions must not affect people's basic rights, calling on the leader of the world's Catholics to use his moral and diplomatic capacity to confront these policies and defend the victims of US sanctions.
'Don't Close the Skies to Ordinary People'
Writing "from the position of human conscience and religious responsibility," Iran's envoy said the letter concerns people who play no role in shaping the decisions of arrogant governments but bear their heaviest consequences—people who want to live, receive treatment, study, see their families, practice their religious duties, and enjoy the most basic elements of a human life.
He warned that when the "reckless and inhumane decision" of the US president leads to widespread aviation restrictions and makes travel difficult for ordinary people, the issue is no longer merely about flight routes or political relations.
"A patient who must reach a hospital in another country for treatment; medical shipments needed to save lives; a student pursuing years of effort at a university across borders; a mother who has not seen her child for a long time; a child who may have only a few days to reach the bedside of an elderly parent; a family summoned to an urgent journey by illness, death, or tragedy; and a believer intending to perform Hajj, visit holy sites, or attend to religious duties," he wrote.
"For these people, a flight is not a luxury commodity. Sometimes it is the path to treatment, knowledge, family, faith, hope, and the salvation of human beings."
'In a World Full of the Noise of Power, the Voice of Conscience Is Essential'
Mokhtari told the Pope that his position is not merely that of leading a religious institution, noting that the voice of the Bishop of Rome is heard worldwide on issues such as peace, war, poverty, migration, family, and human dignity—transcending the boundaries of the Catholic community.
"This position is not military or economic power, but it possesses a capital that the world of politics desperately needs. Therefore, when politics speaks of 'interests,' religion can speak of 'the human being.' When power speaks of 'cost,' religious conscience can ask: Who pays this cost?" he wrote.
"When statistics speak of thousands of passengers, religion can remind us that behind every number is a human being, a family, and a life story. This responsibility, before being political, is Evangelical. Your voice transcends borders."
Appeal to Shared Abrahamic Values
The Iranian ambassador cited both the Gospel of Matthew and the Holy Quran to underscore the shared moral duty of protecting vulnerable human beings.
Quoting Matthew 25:35-36—"I was a stranger and you welcomed me... I was sick and you visited me"—Mokhtari said this command, centuries later, remains alive. "The stranger today may be a traveler trapped between borders. The sick person today may be someone whose path to treatment has become difficult. This command takes ethics beyond the boundary of personal interest and calls us to see the other human being, even when that other is of a different nation, land, or faith."
He also cited the Quranic verse: "And whoever saves a life, it is as if he has saved all of humanity" (Al-Ma'idah: 32).
"Here, the Quran and the Gospel, despite their theological differences, remind the conscience of contemporary humanity of a shared truth: Do not forget the vulnerable human being," he wrote.
'Different in Belief, United in Mercy'
Mokhtari told the Pope that the very act of a Muslim writing to the leader of the Catholic Church carries a message: "Our world needs cooperation among religious consciences, and the awakening of hearts and souls to reduce human suffering, more than it needs competition among religions."
He presented three clear moral and humanitarian requests:
"First: Public defense of preserving humanitarian routes—explicitly and diligently demand that the child-killing and terrorist US government prevent its dastardly widespread aviation restrictions from violating the basic rights of patients and their essential companions, children, the elderly, students, and urgent family cases."
"Second: Use of the moral and diplomatic capacity of the Apostolic See—demand that the irresponsible and law-breaking US government seriously assess the humanitarian effects of restrictions before imposing them, so that ordinary people are not harmed. For every major decision, before implementation, deserves to be viewed once through the eyes of the weakest human being who will bear its consequences."
"Third: A call for religious leaders to speak in unison—what a powerful message it would be to the world if religious leaders, regardless of doctrinal and political differences, agreed on one common principle: innocent human beings and oppressed nations must be comprehensively supported in word and deed."
Mokhtari concluded: "A Muslim and a Christian do not need to resolve all their theological differences to be able to defend a patient together. We can differ in belief and be united in mercy. We can differ in theology and be allied in honoring human life. We can each worship God according to our own religious tradition while joining hands to reduce the suffering of God's servants. Perhaps this is one of the most authentic forms of interfaith dialogue: not only dialogue about God, but cooperation in serving God's servants."
'Do Not Close the Sky to Ordinary People'
Addressing the Pope directly, Iran's envoy said: "The world needs the language of mercy, and who is more responsible than religious leaders for keeping this language alive?"
"With the utmost respect for your spiritual position and with hope for the unison of all religious leaders in defending humanity, I present to you and to the global conscience a simple but profound request: Do not close the sky to ordinary people. For the sky, before being a field of power, is a path connecting human beings; the path of the patient to treatment, the student to knowledge, the child to family, the believer to worship, and the human being to the human being."
"May we not forget justice in an age of power; not forget mercy in an age of difference; and not lose the human being in an age of politics."
Your Comment