VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Thursday urged the United States and Iran to avoid escalation and pursue "dialogue and self-restraint" to avert a wider conflict in the Middle East.

The pope made his appeal, his first direct comment on the current crisis, in a yearly speech that has come to be known as his "State of the World" address to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Crispian Balmer) ((philip.pullella@thomsonreuters.com;))