If the Islamic regime falls, just imagine what could happen to the whole region. If the Persian rug is pulled from under the feet of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis… if the terror proxies surrounding Israel were to be suddenly incapacitated, and the oxygen taken out of the fire. Iran has been the number one sponsor of terrorism in the whole world, bankrolling and orchestrating catastrophes like October 7, fuelling war and chaos in the Middle East. What if it all just… stopped?
There has been a considerable amount of prayer by those across the Highway for God to release the nations of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran into their calling and destiny. A Lebanon free from the grip of Hezbollah, a Syria that is ruled by a government that protects it’s minorities, a Gaza free from Hamas aims of war and destruction and the end of the Houthis in Yemen would signal a new day in the Middle East. Our prayer is that free passage to travel between these countries would then open a window, an open door for the gospel of the Kingdom, for joint worship together, new projects and new partnerships along the Highway.
A HISTORICAL FRIENDSHIP
It is happening. We are living in a historic moment. Some lived through the dramatic and prophetic events of 1948, others witnessed the Six Day War in 1967, and we are on the cusp of a new era in 2025. Preparations are being put into place to reinstate the Israel-friendly crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, son of the exiled Shah.
Netanyahu addressed Iranians directly saying, “Cyrus freed the Jews, now it’s your turn to be free.”
Iranians, on the whole, are delighted. The hashtag #سپاس_اسرائیل (“Thanks to Israel” in Farsi) has been peppered throughout social media, as 85% of the people are cheering on the IDF.
“Israel is not attacking the Iranian people,” Iranian Cyrus Basham insisted in his post on Instagram to a confused world, accustomed to outrage with the IDF. “Israel is hunting the regime that has held us hostage for decades – the regime the world allowed to grow while we were being silenced… And for that, many of us are grateful.”
“On behalf of 85% of Iranians who want democracy and freedom, I want to express my depth of gratitude to you and the rest of the Israeli people,” wrote Kambiz Khadavi to an Israeli on Facebook. “You and your fellow Israelis are giving Iranians the chance for liberation from the deadly yoke of the Islamic regime. Thank you.”
THE MAJORITY OF IRANIANS SUPPORT ISRAEL
Where does this number, 85%, come from? In a poll conducted by the Netherlands-based Gamaan Institute in 2023, just 1% of diaspora Iranians expressed support for the IRGC and even within Iran only 15% were in favor. The other 85% have had enough. Possibly many more. Most diaspora Iranians will assure you the figure is nearer 95%.
“I have only known an Iran that kills, rapes, and humiliates its women and brutally quashes any dissent,” explained Nikoo Pajoom in the Times of Israel. “My lifetime has seen, among others, the student protests of 1999 and 2003, the Green Movement of 2009, the economic protests of 2017-2018, the Flight 752 protests, and most recently the Mahsa Amini protests.”
However, somewhat bizarrely, in a West saturated with anti-Israel media, Iranians are finding that their enthusiasm for the Israeli action against their regime is met with stern disapproval.
“Over the past few days, well-meaning people who know l’m Iranian have approached me with deep concern in their eyes, asking me how I’m faring,” said Pajoom. “Almost all assume that I must be enraged by Israel’s attacks. That’s why when I tell them I’m fully supportive of Israel’s actions in Iran they look perplexed, and I might say even a bit bruised and offended.”
The same thing happened to Sahar (not her real name), who has taken part in ATC gatherings in Jerusalem.
“I get asked, “How are things in Iran?” or “How are you finding this situation?” And then when I tell people how I feel, they just dismiss me, because they don’t get the answer that they are expecting,” she told me. “They’re expecting for me to say, “Oh, it’s awful I can’t believe this is happening, please pray that Israel would stop,” but I instead I say, “Well, I don’t like war, war is horrific, but people are celebrating in Iran that this happening,” and they just change the subject, you know?”
Explaining how things are on the ground for believers in Iran, Sahar says that they are worried, but they are happy. “They are worried about what’s going to happen and how it will unfold. They say you can’t get money out… so it’s hard for them to buy fuel and leave. It’s a dangerous situation. It’s a war and people will perish. They just don’t want to be in the way of danger so they’re worried in that sense. But they’re just praying for this to happen as quick as possible, basically.”
For those trying to get out of Tehran, a journey that should take two hours to leave the city is taking 17 hours. “It’s packed. The roads are jammed. It’s very difficult,” Sahar explains, and reminds us to pray for believers trying to escape to safety.
But the people of Iran have been praying for 47 years for an end to this misery, she emphasizes. “People are fed up, and people want an end to it.”
PRAYING THE PROPHECIES
In the UK at a prayer group meeting to pray about the situation, several Iranian believers erupted in tears of joy, thanking God for Israel rising up like lions to fight to sever the head of the serpent. One declared, “The Messiah, his name is The Lion of Judah!” They thanked God in faith that freedom is coming to Iran at last, and that finally they could at last see the time coming when they can return to rebuild their land.
“They brought sweets to church on Sunday, they came in very happy and celebrating because they had heard that Khomeini had evacuated his post and was on the run. They were very happy about that,” said Sahar. They read the prophecy in Jeremiah 49 together concerning Elam.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
“But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 49:35-39)
“There were big grown men praying in tears about what they had heard when someone shared this passage, because they were so excited to hear that God loves Iran. He has plans for Iran.”
PRAYER POINTS
▫️Pray for Iranian dissidents — especially believers — who are being persecuted by the regime. Pray that God would provide and protect.
▫️Pray for complete victory over the Iranian regime, and for the destruction of all nuclear capabilities. Pray that a new democratic government would replace the Ayatollah very soon.
▫️Pray for Israel’s enemies, that even now, those seeking death to Israel would meet the Lord of life – for dreams, visions, and miraculous transformations.
▫️Pray that there would truly be a new day of freedom for Iran, both politically, socially and spiritually, and for the Iranian church to be ready to make the most of the opportunities to come.
