by Madeleine Davies, Church Times
But Bishop of Chelmsford fears conflict will not bring about change
THE US-Israeli strikes on Iran constitute “an operation aimed at the liberation of the Iranian people”, a group of Iranian Christians has told the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani.
In a letter made public last Saturday, they write: “As Christians, we do not support war easily and continue to value peace above all. Yet, in this context, we regard this operation as a means of rescuing the Iranian nation from a repressive regime. This step may ultimately pave the way for lasting peace in the Middle East, a region that has long suffered from conflict.”
The letter, signed by 40 Iranian Christians living in the UK, was sent to the Bishop in response to her recent letter to The Daily Telegraph, which described the war as “unjust and illegal”.
“This is a war of choice rather than necessity,” she wrote. “The Iranian regime is odious and repugnant, but it did not pose an imminent threat that justified pre-emptive self-defence. Diplomacy might have been working frustratingly slowly, but it was working. It certainly hadn’t been exhausted.