As conflict escalates between Iran, Israel, and neighboring states, persecuted Christians across the region face a crisis that demands our prayers and action.
Recently, we gathered with a few Field Ministers from across the Middle East on a special emergency episode of the Prisoners of Hope podcast.
We want to share what we’re hearing directly from our team so you can pray with knowledge and urgency.
Iran: Celebration, Fear, and an Open Door
Qasem, who leads our Petaraneh ministry overseeing all Iranian operations, described a population caught between grief and hope. After the regime’s supreme leader was killed in the strikes, thousands of Iranians flooded the streets—not in mourning, but in celebration. After 47 years of oppression, many see this as the beginning of liberation.
But the danger is far from over. Internet access has been almost entirely cut off. Qasem described being able to speak with family inside Iran for only seconds at a time. Security forces have taken to the streets, threatening anyone they find outside. For believers and dissidents, the risk is acute: any evidence of conversion or anti-regime sentiment found on a phone or laptop could bring severe consequences.
Yet even in this, there is a gospel opportunity. The Revolutionary Guard is stretched thin, focused outward. The internal surveillance that normally targets house churches has loosened—slightly. And a population disillusioned with the Islamic regime is, as our Jordanian colleague described it, increasingly open to hearing something new.
“We have a lot of hope to have a big ministry in Iran after this, and to start sharing the gospel with them. This is the biggest wish for us—that God would protect our people and release them from this regime...This is not us. This is the Islamic regime. You will see the Iranian people who will invite all of you to our country and you can see our hospitality. We love you all.”— Qasem, Field Minister, Türkiye
Jordan: Sirens, Debris, and the Most Vulnerable
Salam, our senior team leader in Jordan, reported sirens wailing as Iranian missiles passed overhead and Jordanian military interceptors engaged them. Debris from those intercepts rained down on civilian neighborhoods. Travel has ground to a halt as airports open and close unpredictably.
Jordan itself is not a combatant, but its geography places it directly in the corridor between Iran and Israel. And for the persecuted Christians we serve there—many of them refugees who fled Iraq and Syria—the instability is devastating. These are families we helped start small businesses and begin new lives. Now they are fleeing again, leaving everything behind.
“They are the minorities of the minorities in the country. No support from their relatives, because they are cut off. And they are very vulnerable.”
— Salam, Jordan Team Lead
Lebanon: Church Bells and Defiance
Mazen, our Lebanon team leader, described bombings just three to five kilometers from our safe houses since the conflict escalated. Families are being displaced from the south, flooding into the eastern mountains and other areas perceived as safer.
One family we serve illustrates the impossible situation. The husband serves in the Lebanese Armed Forces—which, importantly, opposes Hezbollah—and was called away from home. His wife and children were left in the south with bombs falling around them. We were able to bring them into one of our safe houses. But for every family we reach, there are many more we cannot.
Perhaps the most striking story comes from the village of Ain Ibl in the south. The Christians there refused to leave their homes, knowing that Hezbollah fighters would occupy any empty house and use it as a military position against Israel. Instead, they rang their church bells and stayed. This is a community Help The Persecuted has served before.
“They rang the bells of the churches and refused to leave. They know that if they leave, the military people of Hezbollah will take over their houses.”
— Mazen, Lebanon
Iraq: A Country at War with Itself
The situation in Iraq is uniquely painful. The country is effectively divided between Iranian-backed militias in the south and Baghdad, and the Kurdish-governed region in the north. Our staff work in both areas—meaning some of our colleagues are in zones launching missiles while others are in zones receiving them.
In Erbil, a drone struck the same neighborhood as our office. Another landed near a staff member’s home. The streets are not safe. In Baghdad, the area around the U.S. embassy is locked down, with streets blocked to prevent attacks. Our team members across Iraq are asking one thing: please pray.
A Spiritual War—and a Spiritual Opportunity
In our team prayer time, Salam offered a perspective that cuts to the heart of what we’re seeing. This is not merely a geopolitical conflict. Behind the missiles and militias is an ancient spiritual battle, the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And yet, in the midst of destruction, God is at work.
Qasem shared that millions of Iranians, disillusioned by decades under a theocratic regime that murdered its own people in mosques, have become spiritually open. They don’t believe in the religion that oppressed them. They are searching. And our teams believe this moment could be the beginning of a historic gospel movement in Iran and across the region.
“It will be very fertile land to plant the word of God in Iran soon. And that’s my prayer—that Iran will be ready and the revival will start from Iran to all the Middle East region.”
— Salam, Jordan
How You Can Pray Right Now
Our teams asked us to share specific prayer requests with you:
• For the fall of the Iranian regime and its replacement with a government that allows religious freedom, open churches, and the preaching of the gospel.
• For the physical safety of our field teams, their families, and the persecuted families they serve across Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.
• For a mighty move of God’s Spirit across the Islamic World, especially in Iran, where hearts are open as never before.
The church in the Middle East has survived for two millennia. It will survive this. But survival is not the same as flourishing. These brothers and sisters need us to stand with them—in prayer, in generosity, and in refusing to look away.
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