Misinformation surrounding a recent papal decoration awarded to Iran’s ambassador to the Holy See appears to have originated with propaganda entities linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Pope Leo XIV recently awarded a number of ambassadors accredited to the Holy See with the Order of Pope Pius IX, a decoration routinely bestowed on diplomats after several years of service or at the conclusion of a posting. Among the recipients was the Iranian ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari.

Iranian state-linked outlet West Asia News Agency portrayed the honour as a significant political gesture, describing it as the “Vatican’s highest diplomatic honour”. The report praised Mokhtari’s role in promoting “peace, justice and opposition to warmongering”, while highlighting the Pope’s “firm stances condemning the aggressions of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran”. 

Iranian state broadcaster PressTV soon amplified the story, suggesting that the Vatican had made a singular diplomatic gesture towards Tehran.

The claims then spread through Catholic, pro-Israel and geopolitical social media circles, with many commentators condemning the Pope for what they believed was an extraordinary diplomatic signal towards Iran.

The strongest rebuttal came from the United States Embassy to the Holy See in a statement released via X/Twitter.

“Contrary to news reports,” the embassy said, “Pope Leo has not bestowed an exclusive special honor on the Iranian Ambassador to the Holy See. This decoration is given to all accredited ambassadors to the Holy See after 2+ years of service and has been standard practice for many years.”

The communiqué noted that 13 ambassadors were recently given the honour, not just the Iranian diplomat. Previous US ambassadors had also received the decoration, the embassy said, and it stressed that the award was not presented personally by the Pope.

Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s former ambassador to the Holy See, also noted that the Pian Order is “something all ambassadors get after a certain time” and said that he himself had received it.

Dominic Lynch, editor of The New Chicagoan, likewise disputed claims circulating online, describing as “completely fabricated” the Iranian assertion that the honour recognised “Iran’s extraordinary contributions to peace and interfaith cooperation between Christians and Muslims”.

“The story is the PR coup that Iran obtained because of an exaggerated X post, a possibly fabricated image and the timing and optics,” Lynch said. “The regime was counting on everyone else’s ignorance and they nailed it.”

The episode illustrated how quickly routine diplomatic events can acquire political significance online when presented out of context.