Iran Media Claims Pope Gave Their Ambassador a Special Award

Iranian state media ignited X on Tuesday with reports that the Vatican had honored Iran’s ambassador to the Holy See, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, with the title of Knight Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of Pius IX.

Mehr News said Mokhtari was honored for “strengthening diplomatic relations and serving the cause of peace and dialogue.” They also said it was “after Pope Leo XIV condemned US-Israeli aggression against Iran.”

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said that the Pope awarded “the Vatican’s highest diplomatic distinction to the Iranian ambassador” for his “efforts to promote peace, dialogue and bilateral relations.”

.@Pontifex awards Vatican’s highest diplomatic honor to Iranian ambassadorhttps://t.co/8pAgim97I0 pic.twitter.com/xWYwWfE339

– IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) May 13, 2026

The report further asserts that “officials praised the Iranian Embassy’s activities in advancing peaceful coexistence, wisdom, tolerance and interfaith dialogue,” and that in the official decree, Leo “expressed appreciation for Ambassador Mokhtari’s services in strengthening ties with the Holy See.”

This understandably infuriated many people on X, pointing out that the regime had massacred thousands of people and been behind terrorism for 47 years.

But Iran being Iran, you had to know that there were some problems in this story.

The account of the American Embassy to the Holy See explained.

Contrary to what the media say, Pope Leo did not grant a special and exclusive honor to the Iranian ambassador to the Holy See. This decoration is awarded to all ambassadors accredited to the Holy See after more than 2 years of service and has been standard practice for many years. It’s a…

– The United States at the Holy See (@USinHolySee) May 13, 2026

Contrary to what the media say, Pope Leo did not grant a special and exclusive honor to the Iranian ambassador to the Holy See. This decoration is awarded to all ambassadors accredited to the Holy See after more than 2 years of service and has been standard practice for many years. This is a personal acknowledgment and does not imply support or opposition to any policy or country. Thirteen ambassadors recently received this recognition. Previous American ambassadors have all received the same thing. Ultimately, the decoration was not presented in person by the Pope.

In other words, not only was Iran unclear about the nature of the reward, but the Pope did not hand over the reward in person, as IRNA claims. And this photo that IRNA posted with the ambassador and the pope does not date from the recognition ceremony.

It’s true; It is a common practice to bestow this award on ambassadors to the Holy See, as a form of personal recognition after serving for more than two years.

However, one has to ask: when it comes to an ambassador who represents a regime that just massacred thousands of people in January and a regime that continues to execute dissidents, why would you recognize him, even if that is normally the practice? This is a really bad idea in the context of what’s going on. Not to mention 47 years of terrorism.

And then, Iran manipulated the situation; that’s what they do. They misled about what the Vatican did, even misusing the Pope’s image. The Vatican has just learned a lesson by allowing itself to be bombarded with Iranian propaganda.

Editor’s note: For decades, past presidents have done nothing but talk. Now, Donald Trump eliminates the Iranian threat once and for all.

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