Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako, responding to a U.S. drone attack in Baghdad that killed Iran’s top general, said “wisdom is required to avoid the ‘volcanic eruption’ we are about to face.”

Speaking during the Epiphany Mass in Baghdad on Jan. 6, he said the current crisis resulted from the “upsetting escalation, as well as the emotional and impulsive decisions taken which lacked wisdom and the sense of responsibility.”

Speaking at St Joseph Cathedral in the Iraqi capital, the cardinal addressed his words to world leaders to avoid a further escalation in violence, because, he said, “innocent people will be the fuel for such fire.”

He also invited Christians and Muslims to pray for the decision-makers to act wisely and consider the consequences of their strategies.