Iranian President Masoud Bezeshkiyan appealed to Pope Francis today, Wednesday, to use his influence with "Christian governments" to stop the war in the Middle East.

Bezhikyan said in statements described by the Iranian agency "Fars" as a message to the Pope: "Encourage world leaders, especially Christian governments, to prevent the continuation of the aggression carried out by the criminal Israeli regime.

The Iranian government's website mentioned that an Iranian delegation participated in an interfaith dialogue event at the Vatican, where they delivered the message to the Pope.

Last week, Pope Francis suggested that the international community consider whether the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip constitutes genocide against the Palestinian people, a proposal that represents one of his most explicit public criticisms of Israel's conduct during the war that has been ongoing for more than a year.