Trump falsely claims Pope Leo said Iran can have a nuclear weapon: CNN fact check

US President Donald Trump has continued his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, falsely claiming that the pope supports Iran having nuclear weapons, reports CNN.

In an interview with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins yesterday (16 April), Trump said he was not in conflict with the pope, stating, "I have nothing against the pope," but adding, "I have to do what's right."

He continued, "I'm not fighting with him. The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."

CNN reported that this claim is false. The anchor immediately pointed out that Pope Leo has never said Iran should be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. In fact, the pope has consistently spoken against nuclear arms and called for global disarmament.

Since his election in May 2025, when he was previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, the US-born pope has repeatedly denounced nuclear weapons. In June 2025, as tensions escalated between Israel and Iran, he urged restraint. He called for dialogue, stressing that a safer world free of nuclear threats must be achieved through diplomacy and mutual respect.

Days later, he warned against the use of "powerful and sophisticated weapons", reinforcing his broader opposition to war, though he did not explicitly mention nuclear weapons in that particular statement.

In July 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Leo described nuclear weapons as causing "profound horrors" and said true peace requires the abandonment of such arms. He also rejected the idea of security based on mutually assured destruction.

The Vatican has maintained the same position. In October 2025, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See's representative to the United Nations, stated that eliminating nuclear weapons is both possible and a moral imperative.

The pope continued his stance into 2026. In a January message for World Day of Peace, he criticised nuclear deterrence as being based on fear rather than justice. In February, he urged the United States and Russia to renew the New START treaty to avoid a new arms race. In March, he called on global leaders via social media to pursue nuclear disarmament through dialogue and diplomacy.

Pope Leo has also spoken out against the US and Israeli military actions against Iran in late February 2026. However, CNN noted that calling for an end to the conflict is not the same as supporting Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons. Many critics of the war argue that diplomacy is the most effective way to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Trump's rhetoric on the issue has escalated over the past week. In a social media post on Sunday, he wrote that he did not want "a pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon." Later, he told reporters he opposed "a pope that's gonna say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon."

CNN reported that while those earlier remarks referred to what the pope might think or say, Trump has now falsely claimed that Pope Leo has already endorsed Iran having nuclear weapons, something for which there is no evidence.