Amid the American and Israeli joint strikes on Iran and the death of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Franklin Graham and other evangelical leaders have encouraged believers to remain prayerful.
“Thank you President Donald J. Trump for giving the Iranian people a chance to be free,” Franklin posted on Facebook on Saturday (Feb. 28). “Pray for him and for all those in our military who are risking their lives to protect America and bring freedom to the Iranian people. This regime has been killing Americans for years, and we haven’t had a president who had the guts to take them on. Thank you Mr. President for standing up to bring this evil empire to an end.”
In an earlier post, Franklin also encouraged believers to pray for the spiritual state of the country and that Iranians would be “set free from the bondage of Islam.”
On Saturday morning, a barrage of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes targeted the authoritarian Islamist regime in Tehran, Iran’s capital. Khamenei, 86, had ruled the country for nearly four decades. Iran’s defense minister, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the secretory of the Iranian Security Council were also killed.
The strike followed weeks of diplomatic negotiations between Trump and Khamenei that stalled.
Trump, in a video posted on Truth Social, stated that the objective is to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people.”
“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world,” Trump said.
Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Church in Riverside, California also encouraged believers to pray.
“Pray for the Iranian people. Pray for Israel. Pray for peace. And pray that many come to Christ. Because the greatest revolution is not political—it’s spiritual,” Laurie posted on X as Iran retaliated with strikes of its own on targets across the Middle East including Israel.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, posting Sunday on Facebook, called the moment a time for prayer.
“The Iranian Islamic regime posed a serious threat to Israel and other peace-seeking nations,” Perkins said. “For believers, however, this is not a moment for celebration but for intercession. It is a time to bend the knee, not pump the fist. We must pray for our leaders and for the people of Iran. …This is where the Church has a distinct and indispensable role—to stand in prayer, to seek God’s wisdom and protection, and to engage the battle in the heavenlies with spiritual discernment and steadfast faith.”
Joel Rosenberg, Christian author and editor-in-chief of All Israel News and All Arab News, also responded to the strike on X.
“Christians around the world, pray for the Lord to protect all Americans, all Israelis and all of our neighbors from this diabolical Iranian regime,” Rosenberg said. “And pray for all American and Israeli forces to keep showing the courage and steely resolve to end this Iranian threat forever.”
Anti-government protests erupted in December across Iran. Since then, more than 7,000 Iranian protesters have died, according to Iranian authorities. However, other Iranians report the death toll to have potentially surpassed 36,000.
Celebrations broke out across Iran, with some dancing in the streets or honking car horns to express joy over Khamenei’s death, and many Christian Iranian citizens remain prayerful that new leadership emerges that would protect their religious practices.
Estimates of the Christian population of Iran vary, from several hundred thousand to perhaps 1 million or more—most of them underground. Owning a Bible in the native Farsi language is illegal, as is evangelism, according to International Christian Concern.
Modern-day Iran has a population exceeding 90 million, with Islam as the majority religion. Christianity is officially legal, but believers have been oppressed by the militant Islamist government. Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the danger of converting from Islam to Christianity has vastly intensified, with many converts facing harassment and human rights abuses, including prolonged imprisonment and even death sentences for a few.
“This regime has backed terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and has persecuted its own people—including Christians,” Laurie posted. “Yet despite intense opposition, Christianity has grown dramatically in Iran through house churches and underground believers. Persecution often fuels spiritual awakening.”
