Pope Leo Awards Top Iranian Regime Official With The Vatican’s Highest Diplomatic Honor

In Mind-Boggling Move, Pope Leo Awards Top Iranian Regime Official With The Vatican’s Highest Diplomatic Honor

Erick Stakelbeck

You would think that this story was from a satirical website like The Babylon Bee or a parody skit, but it’s all too real. Pope Leo just awarded a top Iranian official with the Vatican’s highest diplomatic honor.

When I read it, I thought there was no way that such a lack of moral clarity—outright insanity—could be possible. Then I did some research, digging into multiple sources confirming that this top official from one of the world’s most bloodthirsty regimes, that’s fresh off slaughtering 43,000 of its own people in January alone (according to President Trump’s latest figures) is getting top honors at the Vatican.

Folks, wrap your heads around this!

Pope Leo has been critical of the Iran war, at loggerheads with President Trump. The timing of this seems like a poke in the eye.

Some pro-Leo websites insist that the timing meant nothing, the same excuse that we saw under the Biden administration when “transgender day of visibility” just happened to fall on Easter Sunday. They call it a simple “diplomatic protocol,” as this official is the Iranian ambassador to the so-called “Holy See.” He has been in that position for two and a half years, they assert, so it’s time he received this honor.

Sorry, I’m not buying it!

This needs to be called out. Pope Leo has awarded the Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of Pius IX, the Vatican’s highest active diplomatic distinction, to the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari. The decision was confirmed by a diploma dated May 8th and signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

Although the award is usually part of the Vatican diplomatic protocol and is typically granted to ambassadors accredited to the “Holy See” after several years of service, the geopolitical context and the pope’s recent statements on the conflict with Iran have turned the gesture into a subject of strong debate.

You’re supposedly a “Christian leader,” and you’re honoring a representative from a bloodthirsty regime that slaughters and persecutes Christians at every turn? A regime that has fresh blood on its hands from murdering tens of thousands of its own citizens. No one disputes that a massacre happened in January. Every credible organization says mass carnage occurred over a very short span of time. It hearkened back to the domestic purges from the days of Mao and Stalin! Mokhtari represents this regime and, with a straight face, the Pope is honoring him. It boggles the mind.

The Order of Pius IX, also known as the “Papal Order,” was instituted in 1847 and is considered one of the highest honorary distinctions of the “Holy See” or the Vatican. Today, it is mainly awarded to heads of state and high diplomatic representatives. Maybe the Vatican should have made an exception here

According to Iranian state media, the distinction was granted to Mokhtari in recognition of his diplomatic work—and I have to try to keep a straight face here—for his efforts to “promote peace, justice, and opposition to warmongering.”

First and foremost, it’s a slap in the face to the Iranian people. Imagine if you were a family member or a friend of one of those 43,000 Iranians who were slaughtered by Mokhtari’s good buddies just a few months ago, and then you see him getting honored by the Pope! Imagine how those Iranians feel.

What about the Bible-believing Iranian Christians? Has Pope Leo talked about them and how they’re suffering? It’s the world’s fastest-growing church, and they have been forced underground. Why? Because they will be killed, imprisoned, and tortured. Is Pope Leo talking about that?

The award to the Iranian regime’s top representative comes after Leo publicly condemned the military actions of the United States and Israel against Iran, and reiterated the “Holy See’s” traditional rejection of military escalation.

Leo is the first American Pope, and like his predecessor, Francis, he is a leftist who lacks moral clarity. There is no excuse for willfully presenting an Iranian regime official with the highest diplomatic honor. 

More...

As Iran talks stall, Israel and US prepping to renew war as soon as next week – report

As Iran talks stall, Israel and US prepping to renew war as soon as next week – report

TOI STAFF

Israel and the United States are carrying out their most intense preparations yet to renew attacks on Iran, possibly as soon as next week, two Middle Eastern officials told The New York Times on Friday.

According to US officials cited by the newspaper, options for renewed operations in Iran include launching a more intense bombing campaign against military and infrastructure sites; conquering Iran’s key oil export hub of Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf; and putting commandos on the mainland to extract nuclear material buried under the rubble.

Extracting the highly enriched uranium would risk several casualties and require thousands of supporting forces to create a perimeter around an area of operation and likely engage with Iranian ground troops, the Times cited military officials as saying.

A senior Israeli official was also quoted by Channel 12 as saying Israel was preparing for imminent war and waiting for US President Donald Trump to decide how to proceed in negotiations with Iran to end the conflict.

“The Americans understand that negotiations with Iran are going nowhere,” the unnamed official claimed.

“We’re preparing for days to weeks of fighting and waiting for Trump’s final decision. We’ll know more in 24 hours,” the official said. It was unclear why the official cited a 24 hour window.

Pakistani-mediated negotiations, supported by China, have failed to secure a settlement between the US and Iran, with the talks faltering over Iran’s nuclear program and the post-war control of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Friday, departing after a two-day visit to China, Trump said he would accept a 20-year suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment program if Tehran gave a “real” guarantee, in an apparent shift from his earlier demand that Iran pledge to permanently halt enrichment.

While Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking nuclear arms, it has amassed uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels with no peaceful application.

Iran’s stockpile of about 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of highly enriched uranium — enough for about ten nuclear warheads — is thought to have been buried following US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June last year.

Iraq’s new oil minister, Basim Mohammed, said at a press conference on Saturday that his country exported 10 million barrels via the strait in April, down from about 93 million barrels monthly before the Iran war.

Pestilence: A new Ebola outbreak is confirmed in a remote Congo province, with 65 deaths recorded

A new Ebola outbreak is confirmed in a remote Congo province, with 65 deaths recorded

Associated Press

Africa’s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.

Neighboring Uganda later confirmed one death in an Ebola case it said was imported from Congo.

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The agency said 65 deaths have been attributed to the outbreak and that four of those have so far been confirmed in a laboratory.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

Scientists were trying to determine exactly what virus was driving the current outbreak in Congo. The Ebola virus — also known as the Ebola Zaire strain — has been prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks. Results so far suggest some variant other than the Ebola Zaire strain, with sequencing continuing to give more clarity, the Africa CDC said.

The World Health Organization says the Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses, and that three of them are known to cause large outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus.

Uganda on Friday reported one Ebola case involving a Congolese man admitted to a hospital in Kampala three days before he died. Officials said the case was “imported” from Congo, and that Uganda has not yet confirmed any local cases.

Uganda’s Health Ministry said the patient was tested posthumously on Friday after neighboring Congo confirmed its Ebola outbreak. All contacts linked to the man have been quarantined, the agency said. The deceased’s body has been taken back to Congo.

The ministry said the person was infected with the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the illness that has been endemic in Uganda.

The WHO said last year that Congo has a stockpile of treatments and some 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine. The Ervedo vaccine is effective against the Ebola Zaire strain — considered the most severe one — but not against the Sudan virus or Bundibugyo virus, according to health authorities.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director-general, told reporters Friday that the WHO last week sent a team to help Congo investigate the outbreak and collect samples. While initial results did not confirm Ebola, a new analysis on Thursday did, he said.

Congo has “a strong track record in Ebola response and control,” Tedros said, adding that the WHO is releasing $500,000 to aid Congo’s response.

Affected areas are close to Uganda, South Sudan borders

The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.

Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.

The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.

The agency said it was convening an urgent coordination meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other countries.

The acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jay Bhattacharya, said Friday that U.S. health officials are in contact with officials in Congo and Uganda and are “going to provide whatever they need and that we are capable of providing them.”

Great Nations Aren’t Destroyed by Enemies. They’re Destroyed by Debt

Great Nations Aren’t Destroyed by Enemies. They’re Destroyed by Debt.

DOUGLAS CARSWELL

Imagine your family spent more this year than you earned. Uncomfortable, but manageable. Now imagine your family had spent more than it earned every single year since 2001. By now, you would be destitute.

That is what the federal government has been doing.

For the past 25 years — ever since Bill Clinton left the White House — Washington has spent more than it has taken in. Every single year. The national debt now stands at $39 trillion. (RELATED: Why Does Congress Keep Kicking the Fiscal Can?)

In 2001, the United States owed less than $6 trillion. Today, we owe nearly $39 trillion. The federal debt has grown by $33 trillion in just 25 years. (RELATED: How Did We Reach a $38 Trillion Debt During a ‘Shutdown’?)

Here is the worrying part. In the entire 212 years from George Washington’s first inauguration through Bill Clinton’s last day in office — through the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the Cold War — the United States accumulated $5.8 trillion in debt. In the 25 years since, we have added $33 trillion more. More than four-fifths of the total debt the country carries today has been borrowed in the past quarter-century.

Our brains are not wired to grasp numbers this large. So consider it another way.

A million seconds ago was about 11 days ago — late April. A billion seconds ago was 32 years ago, in 1994, when the World Wide Web was just getting started. A trillion seconds ago was about 32,000 years ago. Woolly mammoths still roamed Europe. Farming had not yet been invented. No one, so far as we know, had yet reached North America.

That is what a trillion looks like. And the United States owes almost 40 of them.

The pace is accelerating. Of that $39 trillion, $2.7 trillion was added in the past year alone. Ten trillion — more than 27 percent of every dollar America has ever borrowed — has been piled on in just the past five years. The federal government now adds roughly $8 billion in new debt every single day.

Great nations are rarely destroyed by external enemies. They are more often destroyed by debt. The historian Niall Ferguson has warned that when the cost of servicing old debts crowds out the essential investments that sustain national strength — especially defense — decline becomes almost inevitable.

History is littered with cautionary tales. Habsburg Spain. Bourbon France. The Ottoman Empire. Each was once the greatest power on earth. Each was overstretched by debt.

Ferguson identifies a critical threshold — what some now call the Ferguson limit — beyond which a great power cannot long survive: the moment a nation spends more on debt interest than on defense. At that point, fiscal arithmetic begins to dismantle geopolitical power. The United States is now flirting with that threshold.

More...

Things To Come: Deception Signs

Deception Signs

John Rodrigues

Many believers, understandably, see these parallel developments as (more than) noteworthy. Scripture teaches that Israel would play a central role in end-times events, and today we are watching not only the continued preservation of Israel, but also a dramatic worldwide rise in antisemitism, as prophesied in Scripture. Across Europe, American universities, social media, and political movements, hostility toward the Jewish people has sharply increased.

Scripture warned long ago that Jerusalem would become a burdensome stone to the nations: “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zech 12:3).

At the same time, the world is becoming increasingly fascinated with the supernatural. Interest in UFOs, aliens, paranormal encounters, mysticism, psychedelic drugs, witchcraft, and the occult (even in the church) has exploded in mainstream culture. What was once fringe is now openly discussed in entertainment, academia, and even government circles.

One important observation made by both secular researchers and Christians is the repeated connection between UFO encounters and occult involvement. Many researchers have noted that those deeply involved in spiritism, channeling, occult practices, and paranormal experimentation are those who frequently report UFO-related experiences. Academic studies examining UFO belief systems have also found overlap with mystical and paranormal beliefs.

Many non-Christian UFO researchers have acknowledged that many encounters seem more spiritual than scientific. Reports often involve fear, paralysis, telepathic communication, altered consciousness, and deceptive experiences that resemble occult phenomena more than contact with physical beings from another planet—the same experiences people report with demonic experiences! Some individuals have also testified that frightening encounters ceased when they called upon the name of Jesus Christ. Such testimonies are consistent with the biblical understanding that spiritual deception is real.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our struggle is against unseen spiritual forces. 2 Thessalonians 2 warns that deceptive signs and wonders will characterize the last days. Jesus Himself repeatedly warned against deception preceding His return.

More...