PRESIDENT TRUMP “has unleashed something he cannot control” in Iran, where “the prospect of a negotiated long-term ceasefire appears to be fading,” the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, has told the Church Times.
“The situation in Iran is bleak,” the Bishop, who was born in Iran, said this week. “People are living in fear, uncertain when the war and bombing might resume. Meanwhile, thousands have been killed by the repressive and brutal regime, many of them young people, either on the streets or through executions in prisons following arrests on trumped-up charges. Although sanctions may be politically expedient, their humanitarian impact has been devastating for the economy and for the people of Iran.
“The Strait of Hormuz has become another tool in the armoury of the Iranian regime, and its closure is affecting global trade and fuel prices, placing further pressure on businesses, livelihoods, and families around the world.”
Dr Francis-Dehqani’s grandfather, William Thompson, and her father, Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, were both Anglican bishops in Iran between 1935 and 1990. She and her family fled the region in 1980, a year after the revolution, when her elder brother, Bahram, was shot dead by agents of the regime.
She has recently warned that the Anglican Church in Iran was “hanging by a thread” (News, 16 March), and, in the immediate wake of the Iran conflict, warned: “While the regime in Iran has done profound harm and is deeply unpopular, and while there will be some renewed hope for change, it is not at all clear where military intervention from the US and Israel will ultimately lead” (News, 2 March).
Her fresh intervention came after Israel launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, hours after the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly, after a “heated” phone call with President Trump, pulled back from striking Beirut.
Iran has said that an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, is among its conditions for a stalled peace agreement with the US.
Dr Francis-Dehqani’s comments followed a special choral evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, held in solidarity with the people of Iran.
Hundreds of UK-based Iranian Christians and others attended the service, which included a prayer read by Shirin Ward — the sister of Dr Francis-Dehqani, who was herself unable to attend the service — alongside prayers from Persian church leaders in this country, reflections, and music by Sir James MacMillan.
Dr Francis-Dehqani said: “Iranians in the UK are deeply anxious about loved ones at home, with contact often difficult and sporadic. I am very grateful to those who organised the recent evensong and I was sorry not to be able to attend. For now, we must continue to pray for a peaceful resolution and for justice for the ordinary people of Iran.”