The Executioner’s Baptism

The Vatican and Pope Leo XIV recently honored the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Holy See with a prestigious award, a gesture that Iranian state media presented as a sign of international legitimacy and respect for the regime.

The move angered many opponents of the Islamic Republic, human rights activists, families of victims, and former political prisoners, who see the Iranian government as responsible for executions, repression, torture, and violence against the Iranian people.

The cartoon points to the contradiction between this diplomatic gesture and the ongoing reality of repression and executions in Iran.