Pope says 'tyrants' speech was not aimed at Trump

The pontiff says his remarks have been misinterpreted after a spat with the US president.

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The pontiff said the remarks, delivered days after a high-profile spat with the US president, had been written a fortnight earlier – "well before the president ever commented on myself".

"And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all," he told reporters aboard a flight to Angola on Saturday.

On Monday, Trump launched a scathing attack on the first American Pope – who has been a vocal critic of the US-Israeli military operation in Iran – as "terrible for foreign policy".

The Pope, who is on a tour of Africa, said a "certain narrative that has not been accurate" had developed, citing "the political situation created" by Trump's comments.