Pope Francis had a telephone call with the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi. The conversation took place at the President's request, as confirmed by the director of the Holy See Press Office.
The conversation revolved around what is happening in Gaza and the Iranian official government website issued a statement confirming the content of the call. The President stressed that he quote “appreciates the position of the Catholic leader on the need for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.”
Also present in the conversation was the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In fact, Pope Francis held a meeting at the Vatican in 2016 with the former president of Iran. The meeting lasted 40 minutes and, among other topics, they discussed peace in the Middle East.
In Iran, almost 96% of the population is Muslim, the official state religion. Christians, on the other hand, are a small minority and mainly of Armenian origin.
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