U.S. Embassy Denies Claims of “Special Honor” from Pope to Iran’s Ambassador
After Iranian state media reported that a “special and exclusive honor” was granted by the Pope to Iran’s ambassador to the Vatican, the United States Embassy at the Vatican rejected this narrative and called it misleading. According to American officials, the medal awarded is part of a routine diplomatic procedure at the Vatican that is given to all ambassadors after several years of service and contains no political message or special support for Iran.
The incident began when some official Iranian media outlets reported that Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, Iran’s ambassador to the Vatican, had received one of the Vatican’s highest diplomatic medals from Pope Leo XIV. The news gained widespread coverage on social media and international outlets and was cited as evidence of closeness between the Vatican and Tehran.
However, the U.S. Embassy at the Vatican issued a statement on social networks, rejecting this narrative and declaring: “Contrary to media reports, Pope Leo did not grant a special and exclusive honor to Iran’s ambassador to the Vatican.”
The embassy clarified that the medal in question is awarded to all official Vatican ambassadors who have served in their posts for more than two years, according to an ancient diplomatic tradition and has been implemented as a routine procedure for years. American officials also emphasized: “This medal does not signify support for or opposition to any particular country’s policies.”
According to reports from Vatican media, the medal was presented to 13 ambassadors in a joint ceremony and was not exclusively for Iran’s representative. Furthermore, contrary to some published accounts, the medal was not directly presented by the Pope, and the ceremony was conducted by officials from the Vatican State Secretariat.
Nevertheless, media outlets close to the Iranian government described the event as an important diplomatic achievement and claimed it recognized the activities of Iran’s embassy in the fields of “inter-religious dialogue,” “peace,” and “peaceful coexistence.” Some Iranian media outlets even linked the medal to the Pope’s recent positions regarding regional tensions and war.
The publication of this news generated mixed reactions on social media. Some users and political activists criticized the awarding of such a medal to Iran’s representative even as part of routine diplomatic protocol, viewing it as indifference to the human rights situation in Iran. In contrast, Vatican officials and the U.S. Embassy have emphasized that this matter is merely part of standard diplomatic protocol at the Vatican and should not be interpreted as a political message.
