I think Iran is in very bad shape. I think they're very desperate. We had a meeting that lasted 21 hours.

We understand the situation better than anybody, and Iran's in very bad shape.

Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. There is no way that they're going to get it. They still want it, and they made that clear the other night.

I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine.

Their military is gone. Their missiles are largely depleted. The manufacturing capability for missiles and drones is largely defeated.

We've been very nice. We haven't ripped down too many bridges. We did one only because they broke their word. They broke their promise.

And remember, their promise was that they were going to open the Hormuz Strait. They didn't do it. They lied.

I don't think he's doing a very good job. He likes crime.

He's worried about fear. What about the fear when the ministers and the priests and all of those great people were arrested during COVID? In many cases, they were outside 10 feet apart, and they were arrested. So we don't like it.

We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. I don't like it.

I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime.

He's a man that doesn't think that we should be going with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.

They're coming up. They're going to be coming up, but I'm very disappointed in NATO. They didn't do this.

They weren't there for us. We pay trillions of dollars for NATO, and they weren't there for us.

Remember what I said: "NATO was not there."

Now they want to come up, but there's no real threat anymore.

We spent trillions of dollars on NATO to help them guard really against Russia.

When you think of it, we're guarding against Russia. And I've long thought it was a little ridiculous, but we spent trillions of dollars doing it.

I think that's going to be under very serious examination.

We're not supporting the blockade.

My ​decision has been very clearly that whatever the pressure, and there's been some considerable ​pressure, we're not getting dragged into the war

I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do.

We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.

The message of the Gospel is very clear: blessed are the peacemakers. I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel.

I'm inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges for peace and reconciliation.

To put my message on the same plate as what the President has attempted to do here, I think, is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is.

I'm sorry to hear that, but I will continue with what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.

I do not look at my role as being political — politician. I don't want to get into a debate with him (Trump).

I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.

I will continue to speak out loud against war, looking to promote peace and promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.

Too many people are suffering in the world today, too many innocent people are being killed, and I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way to do this.

Yesterday, I spoke with Vice President JD Vance, who called me from his plane while returning from a trip.

He briefed me in detail, as this administration does daily, on the developments in the negotiations.

He conveyed to me that the central issue for President Trump and the United States is the removal of all enriched material and ensuring that there will be no enrichment in Iran for years to come, possibly decades.

Since Iran violated the rules, President Trump decided to impose a blockade, a naval siege.

Of course, we support this strong position — we support the United States all the time.

We have alignment with the strongest power in the world, and together we have the capability to confront the gravest threats.

The State of Israel is at its peak [of power].

If we had not acted, then places like Isfahan, Natanz, Fordow, and Bushehr would be remembered like Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Sobibor.