Middle East (MNN) — “Nuclear” is the word on everyone’s mind in the Israel-Iran conflict. On Thursday, June 12, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared — for the first time in 20 years — that Iran’s nuclear program is in noncompliance.
The four-page report, with thirteen careful statements plus subpoints, called for a diplomatic solution. The very next day, Israel opened fire on Iranian military and nuclear targets.
Since then, an Iranian human rights group based in Washington, DC has reported 639 killed and 1,329 wounded in Iran. The Israeli government says 24 civilians in Israel have been killed since Friday.
“Honesty and compassion [are a] very hard balance to have at this point, especially [in a moment] that we are all charged with the emotions,” says Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center. “But we need to remind ourselves that we are Christians first, that we are children of God first, and God’s call on our lives is to be peacemakers.
“At the same time, every single person right now in the Middle East is being affected, impacted — whether it’s you, your family, your relatives, or your friends.”
No one wants to imagine what could happen if the wrong strike hits the right nuclear site. Among other targets, Israeli fire has already damaged Iran’s Natanz and Arak facilities. (Here’s what the IAEA and other nuclear authorities say about this nuclear danger.)
“There is a need for some kind of peace talks about this, and then hopefully Iran will go back to the negotiation table and then sit down and have [a] good deal,” Sharaiha says.
Whatever the outcome, he reminds us countless lives are at stake.
“They have names, they have faces, and they have relatives; they have dreams, they have visions for their lives. And guess what? Some of them are our brothers and sisters in Christ,” he says.
“I don’t want us to only feel for our brother[s] and sisters, but also to feel for the people. Those are people created in God’s image, regardless of their skin color, gender, or even ethnic group.”
(Photo courtesy of MENA Leadership Center)
Pray for peace — and for international leaders to put the needs of their people first.
“I also invite people to pray that whatever is happening right now will advance the gospel. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But I know that this is my prayer,” says Sharaiha.
Please pray for wisdom, patience, and endurance for the MENA Leadership Center. In the months ahead, they will offer new training on refugee trauma care as well as a program on mentorship and coaching.
“Let’s remember who we are, and whenever we talk as Christians about ‘Let’s do this. Let’s do that,’ let’s remember, ‘Would Jesus say this?’ This is very important, to put the filter of the Bible [on] whatever we say,” Sharaiha offers.
“Let’s focus on the most important thing, which is sharing the gospel. It’s not about winning or losing; it is sharing the gospel.”
Header photo: a radioactive sign at Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine (Photo courtesy of Kilian Karger via Unsplash)
