In an escalation of the Trump-Pope Leo feud, Trump fabricated the claim that Pope Leo XIV said “Iran can have a nuclear weapon.” The Pope has never said anything remotely close to this — he has consistently and repeatedly called for global nuclear disarmament.
Trump's claims escalated over several days. April 12 on Truth Social: “I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.” April 12 to reporters: “We don't like a pope that's gonna say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon.” April 16 outside the White House: “The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon.” A reporter immediately corrected him: “He didn't say that.”
PolitiFact rated the claim “Pants on Fire.” CNN Fact Check rated it “FALSE.” PBS NewsHour and Poynter both independently debunked it.
What the Pope actually said: He called Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable” and criticized “a diplomacy based on force” replacing one that “promotes dialogue.” He has called nuclear arms offensive to “our shared humanity” (Hiroshima anniversary), rejected “deterrent power of military might, especially nuclear deterrence” (World Day of Peace), and prayed publicly for “effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament.” The Holy See signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017.
Opposing military conflict is not the same as endorsing nuclear proliferation. Trump invented a position for the Pope to argue against — a textbook straw man deployed to a base that will never check the actual papal statements.