“Today, it’s Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, it’s New York.”

President Donald Trump called yesterday for Iran’s unconditional surrender, though the end of its war with Israel does not appear to be in sight. If you’re wondering about Israel’s state of mind as the conflict enters a sixth day, consider this story: After an Israeli emerged from a shelter to find that an Iranian missile had destroyed his apartment, he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv to keep up the attacks on Iran.

“It’s totally worth it,” he said. “This is for the sake of our children and grandchildren.” Other Israelis whose homes have been destroyed by Iranian missiles agreed. One said, “If we have a nuclear Iran, Israel can’t exist.”

Mr. Netanyahu told ABC News that what his country is doing is also in America’s interest:

Today, it’s Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, it’s New York. Look, I understand “America First.” I don’t understand “America Dead.” That’s what these people want. They chant “Death to America.” So we’re doing something that is in the service of mankind, of humanity, and it’s a battle of good against evil.

However, this “battle” doesn’t start with Israel. For multitudes of Iranians, it begins much closer to home.

“I might not be alive to write these words”

Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, author, and women’s rights activist. Time named her among its 2023 honorees for Women of the Year.

Her recent article for the Free Press begins:

I’ve spent four years of my life being hunted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. They sent agents to kidnap me from my home in New York. They hired assassins to kill me on American soil. They even followed me to Davos, Switzerland, where I had to be helicoptered out of my hotel.

If not for the FBI’s protection—and the more than twenty-one safe houses I have shuttled between over the past few years—I might not be alive to write these words.

She says of Iranian leaders killed so far, “For me and for the people of Iran, they are monsters who have impoverished and tyrannized our families. They are the ones who have made millions of people’s lives miserable, not just in Iran, but across the entire Middle East.”

In response to nationwide protests against the regime in 2022, the New York Times reported that more than three hundred Iranians were killed and thousands were injured. Hundreds suffered severe eye injuries inflicted by Iranian security forces. Two teenage girls were killed—one girl’s skull was smashed, the other’s head cracked by baton blows. They were given back to their families bruised and disfigured. They were both sixteen years old.

According to Alinejad, “The Islamic Republic built its empire of tyranny on blood: of protesters, dissidents, women, children. That empire is now cracking. The people of Iran are watching to see what will come next and hoping that the world is watching, too.”

“Tehran’s most dangerous option”

The way Iran’s dictators treat their own people and others in the region is indicative of the way they would treat Americans if given the opportunity. We are mistaken if we think this conflict cannot involve us directly. Consider six scenarios, in escalating order of geopolitical impact.

One: Iran could disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a third of the world’s seaborne oil passes, or target energy facilities in neighboring Gulf states.

Two: They could retaliate against US support for Israel by targeting the forty thousand American troops stationed across the Middle East. In addition, some 280,000 Americans live in Israel and could become victims of Iranian aggression. Iran has already reportedly prepared missiles for strikes on American bases if the US joins Israel’s war.

Three: Iran already possesses large stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that could be dispersed in “dirty bombs” to cause widespread contamination. Such bombs could be used against Israel and Americans in the region.

Four: They could attack us at home. Andrew Roberts is the author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny (one of my favorite biographies of Mr. Churchill) and a Conservative member of the British House of Lords. In the Free Press, he warns:

Iranian terrorist sleeper cells will probably be activated in the West, such as the one plotting kidnappings and assassinations recently uncovered in London. The mullahs’ penchant for attacking soft civilian targets such as synagogues and cultural centers is well known, and indicative of their frustration and rage at their failure to devastate Israel due to the technical genius of her Iron Dome defenses.

Five: In what Foreign Affairs calls “Tehran’s most dangerous option,” the regime could try to make a “run to nuclear breakout,” using what resources it has left to create nuclear weapons. Since many of Iran’s nuclear facilities cannot be destroyed except by America’s Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which requires our B2 stealth bomber, the US would then have to decide whether to intervene, a step the Trump administration is reportedly considering. 

Six: Nuclear powers Russia, China, and North Korea are already aligned with Iran in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and have been supporting each other with military resources; China has also provided Iran with rocket fuel and aerospace components. If they join this growing conflict on Iran’s side, a regional battle could quickly escalate into a world war the US is in a precarious position to fight.

“God shows no partiality”

It is therefore vital that America’s Christians intercede as though this conflict directly involves us, because it soon could. Because “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), he grieves every life lost in this conflict and all that preceded it. So should we.

Consequently, let’s pray urgently for:

• Iran’s leaders to repent of their murderous ideology and seek true peace for their people and the world (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
• Leaders in Israel and the West to respond in ways that do not exacerbate the conflict but bring lasting resolution (James 1:5).
• Protection for noncombatants on both sides (2 Samuel 22:2–4).
• God to redeem this crisis by using it to turn millions to the true Messiah in a spiritual awakening that would transform the Middle East (Ezekiel 36:26–28).

Francis of Assisi famously prayed,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”

Let’s join him on our knees today, to the glory of God.

Quote for the day:

“Christ alone can bring lasting peace—peace with God, peace among men and nations, and peace within our hearts.” —Billy Graham

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