Christians across the Middle East suffer as Iran war spreads ‘fear,’ instability

(LifeSiteNews) — Christians in the Middle East are suffering heavily under the Iran war, a Christian NGO reports.

A report by the German branch of Christian Solidarity International (CSI) describes the plight of Christians since the start of the Iran war on February 28.

CSI reports that Christians in Lebanon have refused to leave their homes despite attacks and an evacuation order by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“We have decided not to leave our homes – because if we leave our villages, we will certainly never be able to return,” Maronite priest Toni Elias from the Christian village of Rmeich said. His village is located just over a mile from the Lebanese-Israeli border. The Israeli army had already called for an evacuation on March 2. The bells of some churches had begun to ring during the night to warn the surrounding villages, CSI reports.

“We have no weapons, we have no rockets, we are no threat to anyone,” Elias said. “We are staying here and asking God for his protection.”

A local CSI partner in Lebanon explained the reason why Christian and other citizens refuse to leave their homes: “The Christians refused to leave their homes for fear that Hezbollah might occupy them, as had happened during the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024. The situation is similar in Ain Ebel: dozens of families, including many children, refuse to leave, even though they fear their homes could be hit by Israeli missiles.”

In addition to the threat of being hit by rocket fire and losing their homes, citizens of Lebanon have also been hit hard economically by skyrocketing prices for basic goods such as food and gas.

As LifeSiteNews reported, Catholic priest Father Pierre al-Rahi was recently killed by an Israeli military strike after he tried to help others who were wounded in a previous attack.

A CSI source from Iraq said that Christians in the country are living in constant fear of further military strikes.

“People are very afraid of Iranian attacks on Erbil and the suburb of Ankawa,” the source said. “Many Christians are leaving Erbil and fleeing to the Nineveh Plains, but even there, there are clashes between militias.”

“I get a lot of calls from people asking me, ‘What should we do? Where should we go?’ Terrible questions with no answers. I told them I don’t know, but that we have to persevere like our grandparents and parents did. Our entire country is occupied by Iranian-backed militias, which are now under attack. We hope that Israel and the U.S. will not attack the Christian militias, whose job it is to maintain order in the Christian villages.”

READ: Catholic archdiocese in Iraq suffers drone strike on apartment complex by Iran-aligned militants

Meanwhile, Christians in Pakistan, Iran’s eastern neighbor, are also feeling the effects of the escalation, despite the country not being directly involved in the war.

“Demonstrators attacked U.S. consulates in Lahore and Karachi and set vehicles on fire as they marched on the U.S. embassy in Islamabad. The U.N. office in Sakardu was burned down,” a Christian human rights lawyer told CSI. “Pakistani Christians are terrified.”

Christians are concerned that the conflict is being perceived as a religious war between Muslims on the one hand and Jews and Christians on the other.

“The Muslim majority sees the war as a war of the kafirs (Christians and Jews) against the Muslims,” the human rights lawyer said. “As long as the war continues, the lives and property of Christians in Pakistan are in danger. Our greatest wish is that the war ends and these problems are resolved peacefully through negotiations.”

Even in Nigeria, despite the country being far away from the Middle East, jihadists are reportedly using the war as a pretext to stir up further anti-Christian sentiment.

“Radical Islamic preachers in Nigeria are mobilizing people to seek revenge. Many of them are encouraging their followers to attack Nigerian Christians in response to the United States’ attack on Iran. There is a real danger that churches could soon be attacked,” a CSI source said.

The Christian Armenian community in Iran itself speaks of an “extremely tense situation” in Tehran.

“So far, none of the Armenians in our community have been killed, but our schools are closed, and our cultural center has been damaged,” writes a member of the political council of the Armenian Apostolic Church. “Our youth organizations are making their rounds, checking on the families in our community, and making sure they have everything they need. We stand tall and strong alongside our Armenian communities here.”

CSI President John Eibner said in a statement that wars are “inevitably destructive to religious freedom and human dignity.”

Likely addressing the U.S. leaders, Eibner said, “Powers that project themselves as Christian, or that claim to act in the interests of Christian civilization, have the responsibility to wage war in accordance with Christian principles developed over the centuries for the purpose of limiting its death and destruction.”