This has been a fast-paced world at war weekend. On Sunday morning when I woke up, reflecting on news through the night that Israel/USA had bombed Iran, I thought about an ADU post along the lines of "How to pray this week for Iran?" But early this afternoon, after two services and no checking my phone re news, I learned that Israel/USA's strike had achieved ruler-change, even if regime-change (a la Iraq) or regime-modification (a la Venezuela) is yet to be determined. This post is a bit more leaning towards questions such as "Should Israel/USA have breached the sovereignty of a nation in a first strike situation?" and "Is it ever ok to assassinate the ruler of another nation?" - philosophy more than prayer!
In the background to the questions in the title of this post is observing on X some commentary - to be frank, from the usual suspects - from an ordinary, secular perspective along the "this breaks convention, this is against usual protocols, and *remember the debacle of Iraq*" lines. And, also from a Christian perspective, "Does the current bombing, including the taking out of Khameni and other leaders, meet just war criteria? Answer: No."
Of course Operation Epic Fury is receiving support as well as criticism, with support including rejoinders to the usual suspects above along the "Oh, so you don't care about all the protestors recently killed, including women and girls, and just want to give the horrific, hated leaders in Iran a free pass to kill their own citizens" lines.
Also "of course" (as some are observing) one can hold two propositions simultaneously in this context:
1. Rejoicing that Ayatollah Khameni is dead and his deadly rule is over.
2. Questioning (e.g. from a just war theory perspective) that the initiative for this death has come as a first strike rather than a defensive response to a first strike.
Ditto, one can hold to a reasonable hope and a rational fear simultaneously:
3. Hoping that the bombings do lead to regime change, especially towards democracy, meaning an opportunity for every individual Iranian to flourish in ways currently restricted by the current Islamist regime.
4. Fearing that things in Iran will get worse rather than better, because regime change is sometimes, in time, a worse outcome for people: see Afghanistan today and the harsher Taliban government currently in power there than any previous government.
This weekend "the hounds have been unleashed" but (whether from a secular principles or just war theological concern) might it be better to have "let sleeping dogs lie"?
Further,
5. Is it completely irrational to yet worry that we are now one significant step along the way to World War Three?
Nevertheless, we might usefully consider some details in the overall situation being addressed by political philosophers and theologians.
6. Iran is not an innocent player in this situation. It has clearly been a "first striker" inasmuch as it has fuelled proxy war against Israel for years via Hezbollah to the north and Hamas to the south. It has repeatedly made "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" threats which cannot be considered to be mere words given its military prowess, and especially given its development of nuclear technology which it has never wholly enabled the wider world to rest easy that no nuclear weapons were aspired to.
7. Iran is not an innocent player in this situation. It has clearly imposed a regime of constraint, restriction, punishment and execution on its citizens, from women unwillingly wearing the hijab through to protestors, especially in recent weeks. This is and always has been since 1979 a brutal regime. Khameni and his henchmen have the blood of many innocent people on their hands. They may have died unjustly because no one arrested them, tried them and punished them via the rule of law; but they did not die unjustly because they were innocent of murder.
However, the consequences of "Might is Right" which tramples its way through the world today, are yet unseen. Just because on this occasion Might may have been Right doesn't mean any advance on the case that "Might is Right" is morally, let alone legally right!
So, this week, we pray for Iran, we pray for our world. We may not know what to pray for (other than generally, for peace, for justice, for an end to violence as a means to various ends, for all Iranians and all humans to flourish) but we know to Whom we pray, and God is Wise, is Just, is Love, is Power. God is Life, not Death.
