Pope Leo XIV decorated the ambassador of Iran after the regime's massacres.

The Holy See became embroiled in a strong international controversy after Pope Leo XIV awarded the Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of Pius IX to the Iranian ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari. The distinction, considered one of the highest active diplomatic decorations of the Vatican, was formalized through a diploma signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The news began to circulate strongly in recent hours in Iranian media and Catholic portals, generating immediate rejection from human rights activists and Western political sectors. The gesture is particularly controversial due to the repressive history of the Iranian theocracy and the murder of more than 40,000 Iranians during the brutal repression carried out by the regime against protesters at the beginning of the year.

Various activists labeled the recognition as a “moral blindness” and an “insult” to the victims of Iranian authoritarianism. From Iran, however, official media interpreted the decoration as a sign of international legitimacy and a favorable political gesture from the Vatican. Portals linked to the regime highlighted the recognition granted to the ambassador and presented it as a sign of strengthening diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Tehran.

The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See clarified that the decoration responds to a usual protocol that is typically applied to ambassadors after serving a certain period in the Vatican, and emphasized that U.S. diplomats have also received that recognition on other occasions.

The controversy also reignited political tensions between the Vatican and U.S. President Donald Trump, who in recent months has had strong public clashes with Leo XIV over the Holy See's international policy and the pontiff's positions regarding global conflicts.

Trump even accused the Pope of acting like a “politician” and maintaining “weak” positions against authoritarian regimes and international threats. On the other hand, Leo XIV defended the "diplomatic" and humanitarian role of the Church, insisting on the need to promote bridges of dialogue and messages of peace amid international conflicts.