As reports began to emerge about U.S. military action in Iran and Iran’s response throughout the Middle East, byFaith invited Presbyterian and Reformed ministry leaders with ties to Iran to share any reports they have received about the situation on the ground and how the PCA can pray for Iran and Iranian Christians. The responses below have been slightly edited for length and clarity.

From an Iranian expert within the PCA whose name has been withheld for security reasons:

It is very difficult to know what is really going on inside the country, especially among Christians. But there are a few things to keep in mind. As the massive protests at the beginning of this year have shown, there is widespread discontent among the Iranian people against the Islamic government. This has led to widespread discontent against Islam itself. As a result, there has been an explosion of growth in the church in the past few decades, such that Iran is now considered the fastest-growing Christian population in the world. 

While it is very encouraging to see the growth in the church, the government of Iran has been actively working to stop the church through a systematic program of persecution. And while the persecution has been unsuccessful in stopping the growth of the church, it is still causing great difficulty and suffering for Christians.

Though the current situation inside Iran is unclear, in previous recent crises, for example during the 12-day war of 2025, or the multiple protest movements in the past several years, these times of national crisis have coincided with sharp increases in interest in Christianity and large numbers of Iranians coming to Christ. 

There are many things to lift up in prayer. 

For decades, Iranians have been longing to be free of the oppression of this government. The people have paid in suffering and lives lost in the tens of thousands, but they still have not been able to achieve the freedom that they desire. It seems that there is still a very difficult and painful road ahead if they are ever to achieve this freedom, so please pray for God’s mercy and grace and protection upon the people of Iran. 

It is evident in the Iranian government’s military response that they are lashing out in all directions, and perhaps this is a sign of their desperation and weakness (my speculation). Please pray also for protection and safety for all those in harm’s way in the surrounding nations.

And pray for the church. In previous conflicts and periods of crisis, the Iranian government has blamed Christians as scapegoats and increased persecution during those times. Please pray for the protection and safety of Christians in Iran.

Finally, there are many Christians inside and outside of Iran who are ready to work for the blessing of the country, if it were ever to open its doors. Please pray for that opportunity, that the church could be a source of transformation and blessing for this great and beautiful nation.

From Tat Stewart, with World Witness, the missions agency of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Stewart and his wife are second-generation Presbyterian missionaries to Iran and have been working with Iranian Christians for decades.  

We have been in regular contact with believers in Iran. Yes, God is at work, and we need to look at this, as much as we can, from a biblical perspective. God always advances his kingdom through difficulty, trouble, and persecution. … In 1979 there were about 3,000 Protestant Christians in Iran. And the church was quite asleep. … God, in his infinite wisdom, allowed this revolution to occur, and for 47 years, for the country of Iran to be under great stress, and particularly the church. But the church began to grow, and we have the fastest-growing church in the world in Iran. … Today it is estimated that over a million people profess Christ, and we have no idea of how many people are secret Christians. God uses difficulty, struggle, and trial to advance the gospel, and we should praise him that which was intended for evil, God has been using for good, and for the blessing of the people of Iran. 

There’s another principle that we can take from Scripture. I call it the “Tower of Babel” principle. When human thought and human philosophy sets itself against God, God allows that system to crumble. We saw that with the crumbling of communism in the former Soviet Union. We see it now in Iran as Islam has crumbled. Today, I would say 70-80% of the people of Iran have turned against Islam. We have seen God again, through his providential and sovereign will, bring about a situation where a whole nation is turning away from a false God unto the possibility of a real God. We are seeing a mushrooming of house churches and people interested in the gospel. … We are seeing an amazing awakening to Christianity in Iran. We need to be in prayer. We need to stand with them. We need to rejoice that God is sovereign, and he is working out his plans and purposes in our world.

From Hamid Hatami, a PCA teaching elder and founder of Middle East Reformed Heritage Ministries. The following is an excerpt from a newsletter he sent to his supporters on March 3, 2026:

The situation in Iran has entered a historic and deeply unstable phase. In recent days, U.S. and Israeli strikes killed the dictator of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and by the response of the IRGC to his death, the region has moved into a new and dangerous season of escalation, retaliation, and uncertainty. Inside Iran and across the Iranian diaspora, the reaction has been sharply divided. The Islamic regime’s supporters have grieved, but many others have openly or quietly celebrated his death, seeing it as the fall of a ruler who embodied decades of tyranny, repression, and bloodshed. For that reason, this moment is not simply another political crisis. It may prove to be the beginning of an entirely new chapter for Iran and, in many ways, for the wider Middle East.

… Following the brutal crackdown in Iran, where the Islamic regime is reportedly responsible for the deaths of between 30,000 and 50,000 brave and courageous Iranian men, women, and children who protested, many Iranians do not perceive this as a mere foreign invasion, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Instead, they view it as essential aid against a tyrannical regime that has held Iran hostage for nearly five decades. For all of us, this moment is deeply intertwined with a fervent cry for justice: justice for those who lost their lives, justice for those unjustly imprisoned, justice for families who have endured silent mourning, and justice for a nation that has suffered far too long under the weight of fear, corruption, and violence.

More importantly, the church must understand this moment not first through the lens of geopolitics, but through the lens of the kingdom of Christ. Political powers rise and fall, rulers come and go, and nations are shaken, but the Lord often uses such moments of upheaval to open doors that seemed long shut. That is why Colossians 4:3 is so fitting: “that God may open to us a door for the word”. What may look like collapse on the surface may, in the providence of God, become an opening for the clear proclamation of the gospel, the strengthening of believers, and the advance of Christ’s church in a land where the truth has long been suppressed.

We should therefore pray not only that the church in Iran would survive, but that it would multiply. This may become a season of evangelism, discipleship, leadership training, and church planting on a scale that has not been possible for decades. And in such a moment, we must remember that the rise and fall of rulers are never outside the sovereign hand of God. … The church in Iran will not endure because the political situation becomes easy, but because Jesus Christ is faithful to preserve His people, gather His elect, and establish His church even in the midst of danger, upheaval, and disorder.

This also means that the church must not stand at a distance. Iran is not only a battlefield; it is also a mission field. … If the present regime continues to weaken, the need will not merely be for humanitarian concern or political analysis, but for faithful gospel workers, wise shepherds, sound theological training, and church-planting efforts rooted deeply in Scripture and committed to the ordinary means of grace.

What can we do in a moment like this?

We must think of Iran as a nation filled with image-bearers of God, many of whom are weary, fearful, disillusioned, and searching for hope. We should pray for the suffering people of Iran, for the protection of vulnerable believers, and for the boldness of those already laboring quietly for Christ. We should also ask the Lord to prepare His church for the possibility of sudden opportunity. Doors that have been closed for generations can be opened in a matter of days if God so wills. … And if that door opens, the church must be ready not merely to observe, but to enter—to preach Christ, disciple converts, train leaders, plant churches, and labor patiently for the long-term building of a faithful witness in Iran

Please pray in these specific ways:

• • Pray for the protection of civilians, that innocent men, women, and children would be spared and that this war would not descend into even greater civilian bloodshed, revenge, and chaos.
  • Pray for the brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces, that the Lord protect them, restrain evil, and use their labors to defend the innocent, restore justice, and bring them safely back home.
  • Pray for wisdom and guidance for President Trump, his administration, the Department of War, and military commanders, that they would act with clarity, restraint, courage, and justice in the decisions before them.
  • Pray for justice, that the crimes, murders, and oppression of the Islamic regime would not be hidden, and that the Lord would bring truth into the light and vindicate the suffering.
  • Pray for protection for believers, especially converts, house-church leaders, and families already living under pressure.
  • Pray for true spiritual awakening, that many Iranians would turn not merely from one political order to another, but from false religion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Pray that the Lord would open a wide door for the gospel, according to Colossians 4:3, so that Christ may be preached freely and clearly.
  • Pray for a great harvest in Iran, that many would come to repentance and faith in Christ.
  • Pray for the raising up of pastors, elders, evangelists, and disciplers, who can serve the church with courage, wisdom, and doctrinal faithfulness.
  • Pray for faithful church planting, that strong, biblical, gospel-centered churches would be established throughout the country.
  • Pray for the American church to stand alongside Iranian believers, not merely in sympathy, but in sustained prayer, partnership, and mission.
  • Pray for MEHR Ministries, that the Lord would give us wisdom, courage, and guidance, and that when He opens the door in His providence, we may return and continue the work of the gospel there with faithfulness and clarity.

Let us not waste this moment by watching only with political interest when we should also be watching with gospel expectation. The Lord may be preparing, through much sorrow and shaking, a door for one of the greatest mission fields of our generation. May He find His church ready—praying fervently, standing faithfully, and going boldly wherever He opens the way.