RED CROSS you say?
Why is the Vatican being pushed as a potential backchannel between the US and Iran?
>https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2020/01/forget-the-swiss-how-about-the-vatican-to-broker-us-iran-relations/
What might a papal initiative in this moment of crisis look like?
To begin, Francis could write personally to both Trump and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, much like the letters Francis dispatched in 2014 to Cuban leader Raul Castro and then-U.S. President Barack Obama that helped pave the way for restoring diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington.
In his letters, Francis could offer the Vatican’s services as an intermediary between Iran and the U.S., or, at the very least, as a backchannel means of communication between the two nations to ensure that potentially momentous military decisions aren’t made on the basis of miscalculations or incomplete information.
In terms of something more dramatic, Francis could steal a page from St. John Paul II’s playbook and dispatch personal emissaries to both Tehran and Washington, urging them to show restraint, just as the Polish pope did with Baghdad and Washington in 2003 in an effort to prevent war in Iraq. Obviously that effort failed, but the fact it didn’t work once doesn’t mean it never will.
Even bolder, Francis could announce his intention to visit the Middle East, with the idea being to convene Iranian and U.S. officials along with other regional players in an effort to promote dialogue and peaceful solutions. One option for a venue would be Lebanon, a country Francis promised to visit as far back as 2017, which has close ties to Iran but also a decent working relationship with the U.S. Lebanon also features one of the largest Catholic populations in the Middle East, making it a natural for a papal foray.