Iran (MNN) — Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist, was killed last Friday after bullets struck his car.
Accounts on exactly what happened conflict. The initial report said a truck exploded, and several gunmen opened fire on the car. Later, Iranian officials claimed a remotely operated machine gun was involved.
Iran has blamed Israel for the killing. Earlier this year, Iran lost another prominent figure when General Qassim Suleimani was killed by an American drone strike.
Iran has reacted to the attacks with outrage, but Mike Ansari of Heart4Iran says the majority of Iranians have different concerns. “Social media posts are not mournful, it is the opposite. Iranians are concerned that their leaders are spending a great deal of money on building a robust security apparatus across the country. Meanwhile, a large cross-section of average Iranians lives below the poverty line. They feel their country has abandoned and betrayed them. These people feel the roots of poverty, misery, and troubles reside in the anti-Western rhetoric of the Islamic ruling elite.”
Iranian Christians need Bibles, and Heart4Iran works to supply them. (Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran on Facebook)
The Church in Iran continues to grow
Iranians have become frustrated by their government. However, many have found hope in Christ, and the Church in Iran continues to see massive growth.
But this growth faces a lot of challenges. Ansari says, “The church in Iran is isolated, persecuted, and alone. Yet it perseveres. Because of isolation, Christians lack communal growth. This is more palpable during the COVID-19 quarantine.”
Cultural miscommunication causes problems for these new believers as well. Ansari says, “The vast majority of discipleship and leadership content provided to the indigenous church takes a Western approach to the Middle Eastern Church. Few ministries have invested in creating relevant content that fits the worldview of the Middle Eastern demographic.”
In addition, the Iranian church often lacks reliable access to Bibles, making the average theological literacy very basic. Heart4Iran works to send more Bibles to the country. Learn how you can get involved here.
Pray Iranian Christians will stay focused on the Gospel and that by their actions they will glorify Jesus and bless their country.
The header photo shows Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s car after the attack. (Fars News Agency, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
