Pope Leo XIV Rejects Donald Trump Claim He Supports Nuclear Armed Iran

Pope Leo XIV rejected Donald Trump’s claim that he supports a nuclear armed Iran after Trump said the pope was effectively backing a nuclear weapon and “endangering Catholics.”

The pope responded outside the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, telling journalists: “For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.”

Al Jazeera

The dispute landed ahead of a scheduled face to face meeting between Pope Leo XIV and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday, with Rubio expected to cover the Iran conflict and wider foreign policy tensions.

In the same exchange, Trump told Hugh Hewitt that “The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good.”

In the Vatican, the latest remarks were met with puzzlement, and Pietro Parolin told reporters: “For me it seems a bit strange, to say the least.”

Rubio moved quickly to soften Trump’s language without openly contradicting him, replying at a press conference: “Well, I don’t think that’s an accurate description of what he said.”

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The Guardian described Pope Leo’s Tuesday night comments after leaving the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, where he said “The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to preach peace.”

The Guardian also reported that Trump had earlier told Hugh Hewitt that “The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” and that Leo’s remarks were intended to ease tensions sparked by previous Trump broadsides.

The fallout is tied to the upcoming Vatican diplomacy, with the Guardian saying a “frank” conversation is expected and that the US ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, said the dialogue would be “a frank conversation about U.S. policy and engage in dialogue.”

The same reporting said Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV would be the first known private audience since JD Vance met the pope a day after his papal inauguration mass in May last year.

The Guardian also said Rubio will meet Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday, after Trump berated her in April for criticizing his remarks against Leo and threatening to withdraw US troops from Italy.

In parallel, the International Business Times UK reported that Pope Leo XIV’s clash with Trump came just days before the pope was due to meet Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday.