Iranian Christians have welcomed strikes against Iran's leadership by the US and Israel

Recent targeted strikes against Iran’s leadership, including the reported death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have elicited a wide range of international reactions. While a global network of Iranian Christians have expressed welcome and even jubilation, seeing these events as a step toward justice, prominent religious figures such as the Archbishop of Jerusalem and Pope Leo have expressed deep concern, calling for peace, prayer and dialog.

According to Christian Today, a global network of Iranian Christians welcomed the targeted strikes against Iran’s leadership by the U.S. and Israel. The group said they were «jubilant» over news of the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Saturday’s strikes, calling him a «terrorist regime» and holding him responsible for the deaths of countless protesters. They emphasized that Khamenei «bears direct responsibility for the recent brutal crackdown on the uprising in Iran» as well as the oppression of Christians, many of whom have been forced to flee the country or are imprisoned with long sentences.

Iranian Christians have called on world leaders to support U.S. military action against Iran and to help rebuild the country. Their hope and prayer is that «the leaders of the Islamic Republic surrender to the Iranian people,» allow the safe return of exiled Iranians in the diaspora, including Prince Reza Pahlavi, and ensure a safe transition of power to establish a democratic government where the state will be separated from religion and all will be equal before the law, with guarantees of religious freedom and the preservation of Iran’s territorial boundaries.

At the same time, Archbishop Hosam Nahum of Jerusalem expressed a much more restrained reaction, saying that «the cycle of violence has expanded appallingly fast.» He called on Christians to join in «urgent, ongoing prayer» for Iran and other countries affected by the hostilities. «We pray to God to protect the innocent — mothers, children and the elderly — who have been caught in the crossfire of this ‘Operation Epic Fury’ and the subsequent ‘crushing responses’,» he said. The archbishop also prayed for the «sanity» of the leaders of the US, Israel and Iran to realize the «futility of this bloodshed» and retreat from the «abyss of global catastrophe.»

Pope Leo also called for a return to dialog, saying, «I follow with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and Iran in these tumultuous times. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialog.»

It is worth noting that the situation with religious freedoms in Iran remains dire. According to the Open Doors organization, Iran ranks 10th in the world in terms of persecution of Christians. Conversion from Islam is illegal, and even those who are not converts are forced to meet secretly in house churches and constantly face the threat of police raids. Christians are often arrested on charges related to «national security.»