Iran President Urges End To U.S. War As Christians Suffer In Crossfire

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

TEHRAN/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Iran’s president has urged an end to the war with the United States in a daring pushback against Islamic hardliners who want to continue the armed conflict, which has also left minority Christians suffering in prisons and elsewhere.

“It would be better to end the war today, when we have power and dignity, and with the whole world acknowledging our victory,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, according to Iran’s semi-official Students’ News Agency.

Pezeshkian, Iran’s highest elected official but subordinate to the country’s supreme leadership on major security matters, has joined other senior officials advocating diplomacy as economic hardship mounts.

His comments came as the months-long conflict showed few signs of a lasting resolution following the collapse of an earlier ceasefire, while U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration prepared a new campaign of economic pressure against Tehran.

HARDLINERS RESIST

Iranian military hardliners have argued that Tehran should continue fighting, with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps signaling a more offensive military posture and insisting Iran can withstand further pressure.

Washington hopes tougher sanctions, restrictions on Iranian trade and pressure on Tehran’s international partners can force the Islamic Republic to accept U.S. terms for ending the conflict. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was expected to unveil additional measures aimed at further isolating Iran economically.

The war has compounded an already severe economic crisis for ordinary Iranians, with soaring inflation, a weakened currency and sharply rising prices for basic necessities.

Among those caught in the crisis are Iran’s Christians, particularly converts from Islam and members of underground house churches who faced arrests and lengthy prison sentences even before the latest hostilities.

CHRISTIANS IN PRISON

Rights monitors say Christian prisoners have been especially vulnerable during the fighting. Evin Prison in Tehran, which has held numerous Christians detained over their religious activities, was previously struck during Israeli military operations, exposing inmates to the dangers of warfare as well as imprisonment, well-informed sources say.

Christians transferred from Evin have reported severe overcrowding and inadequate conditions, while rights organizations have described shortages of clean water, acceptable food and basic sanitation at detention facilities.

Iranian authorities often regard evangelical Christianity and house-church activities as national-security threats. Converts from Islam and those accused of evangelizing have faced charges including “propaganda against the state” and other national-security offenses.

Among those imprisoned is Iranian-Armenian Christian Joseph Shahbazian, who was rearrested in February 2025 and returned to Evin Prison. A Revolutionary Court later sentenced him to 10 years in prison, while authorities confiscated personal property including Bibles and Christian literature, according to religious-freedom monitors.

PERSECUTION CONTINUES

Christian aid and advocacy group Open Doors ranks Iran among the world’s most difficult countries for Christians, saying converts worshipping through underground churches risk raids, interrogations and lengthy prison terms.

Recognized Armenian, Assyrian and Chaldean churches have greater constitutional protections but also face restrictions, particularly on Persian-language worship and evangelism among Muslims.

The conflict has added to the hardships facing religious minorities and other civilians already struggling with economic turmoil, government repression and military strikes.

Pezeshkian’s intervention underscored a widening debate within Iran over how long the Islamic Republic can sustain the confrontation. While hardliners insist Tehran can continue fighting, the president suggested that declaring victory and pursuing diplomacy now would preserve Iran’s “power and dignity” while potentially bringing relief to those caught in the crossfire.

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