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Pope meets with Iranian official amid Palestinian attacks on Israel

The Vatican said Pope Francis met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose regime funds Palestinian factions currently attacking Israeli civilians.

By World Israel News Staff and AP

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis met with the Iranian foreign minister and spoke by telephone with the Turkish president amid continued Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

The Vatican said Francis spoke by phone around 9 a.m. Monday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Later, he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was in Rome on a previously announced visit. The Vatican provided no comment on the content of the talks.

The Iranian regime is the world’s top state-sponsor of terrorism, according to the U.S., and funds Palestinian factions currently attacking Israeli civilians with waves of rocket attacks.

On Sunday, Francis appealed for calm and international help to open a path of dialogue. Speaking during his Sunday blessing, Francis said the deaths of children in the latest surge of violence was a “sign that they don’t want to build the future but want to destroy it.”

During the past eight days, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians, killing a 5-year-old boy. Israeli retaliatory strikes have taken out hundreds of terrorists in the Gaza Strip, but have also resulted in civilian casualties.

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Erdogan reportedly asked Pope Francis to support sanctions against Israel, demanding the international community punish the Jewish State, which has launched defensive strikes in response to Palestinian attacks.

During their telephone telephone call, the Islamist leader, whom Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi labeled a “dictator” in April, said that “continued messages and reactions” from Francis in support of Palestinians would be of great importance for the “mobilization of the Christian world and of the international community,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications directorate.

Erdogan also slammed U.S President Joe Biden, accusing him of “writing history with his bloody hands” following reports of a multi-million dollar weapons sale to Israel by his administration.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Erdogan also said Jerusalem should be administered by an international commission. Erdogan’s attempts to gain control of portions of Jerusalem have been documented by Israeli watchdog groups.

As part of his plans with regard to Jerusalem, Erdogan promotes “Red Apple” propaganda, “a militaristic myth that symbolizes the Turks’ political ambitions for ultimate world domination,” which “has appeared ever more frequently in the Turkish media,” New Europe reported in September.

“It’s those visions of grandeur that lay at the crux of the recent media campaign to assist Erdogan in fulfilling his grand vision – to revive the Ottoman Empire,” added the New Europe report.