Trump Criticises Pope Leo Over Iran Nuclear Remarks, Reaffirms Hardline US Stance

Washington, May 2026: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly criticised Pope Leo over comments related to Iran, claiming that the pontiff appeared to support Tehran’s ability to possess nuclear weapons — a position Trump said the United States would never accept under any circumstances.

Trump made the remarks during an interaction with reporters at the White House after being asked about an upcoming meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Pope at the Vatican.

When questioned about the message he hoped Rubio would convey during the meeting, Trump reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remained a non-negotiable priority for his administration.

“As far as the Pope is concerned, it’s very simple — whether I make him happy or I don’t make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters.

The President then suggested that the Pope appeared to hold a more lenient position regarding Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“He seemed to be saying that they can, and I say they cannot,” Trump said, without elaborating on the specific comments that prompted his criticism.

Trump warned that allowing Iran to obtain nuclear weapons would create a major threat to international security and destabilise the global balance of power.

“If that happened, the entire world would be hostage, and we’re not going to let that happen,” he added. “That’s my only message.”

The exchange came during a White House event that had initially focused on a planned UFC fight event expected to take place on the White House grounds next month. Trump appeared alongside several mixed martial arts stars, including Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.

However, the discussion soon shifted toward foreign policy issues, particularly the ongoing tensions involving Iran and negotiations surrounding its nuclear programme.

Trump claimed that recent diplomatic talks with Tehran had shown signs of progress, saying Iran was eager to reach an agreement with Washington.

“They want to make a deal badly,” he said, adding that discussions held over the past 24 hours had been productive.

Despite hinting at possible diplomatic progress, Trump maintained his hardline stance on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

“They can’t have nuclear weapons, it’s very simple,” he repeated.

The President also made sweeping claims about the extent of damage suffered by Iran’s military infrastructure during the recent conflict. According to Trump, Iran’s naval and air capabilities had been severely weakened.

“They had a Navy with 159 ships, and now every ship is blown to pieces and lying at the bottom of the water,” Trump claimed. “They had an Air Force, lots of planes, and they don’t have any planes.”

He further argued that even if hostilities ended immediately, Iran would take decades to rebuild its military strength.

“If we left right now, it would take Iran 20 years to rebuild,” Trump said.

Trump concluded the interaction by again emphasising that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remained his administration’s central objective, while declining to comment further on the Vatican-related controversy.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)