There comes a time in every war when those in authority must stop listening to the roar of the bombs and begin listening to the cries of the wounded. There comes a time when pride must be laid aside, threats must cease, and men must sit down at a table and talk honestly about peace.
I believe that time has come in the war between the United States and Iran.
After months of attacks, retaliation, blockades and threats, neither side is winning. Both governments may announce victories. Military spokesmen may display photographs of destroyed targets. Political leaders may speak of strength, resolve and overwhelming power. Nevertheless, when we look beyond the speeches, we see a war without a clear path to victory.
The United States can bomb Iran, but it has not forced Iran to surrender.
Iran can strike American bases and interfere with shipping, but it cannot force the United States out of the Middle East.
America can destroy Iranian command centers, missile sites, air defenses and nuclear-related facilities. Iran can rebuild, disperse its weapons, launch more missiles and drones, and strike the bases America needs to continue the war.
That is not victory. That is a bloody circle.
America Is Not Winning
The United States possesses the most powerful military in the world. There is little doubt that it can destroy targets throughout Iran. But destroying targets is not the same as winning a war.
What is the political objective? What conditions would constitute victory? How many bombing missions will be required? How many American lives must be lost? How many interceptor missiles can we afford to use? How many months can the world economy withstand disrupted oil supplies?
Iran has not collapsed. Its government has not surrendered. Its military still retains the ability to retaliate. Instead of ending Iran’s resistance, the bombing campaign has widened the battlefield.
Iranian forces have attacked American military facilities and support systems in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and elsewhere. American personnel have been killed and wounded. These attacks demonstrate that American air power has not eliminated Iran’s ability to strike back.
The United States can continue dropping bombs, but each bombing raid risks another Iranian missile attack. Each Iranian attack creates demands for more American retaliation. We are climbing a ladder of escalation without knowing where the final step leads.
That is not a plan for victory. It is a plan for a forever war.
Iran Is Not Winning
Iran is not winning either.
Its cities, military installations and infrastructure have suffered tremendous damage. Iranian soldiers and civilians have been killed. Its economy is under increasing strain. Its people are living beneath the threat of another night of bombing.
Iran may be able to make the war painful for America, but it cannot defeat the United States in a conventional military contest. It cannot prevent every American attack, nor can it guarantee the safety of its military and economic infrastructure.
Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks upon shipping may give Tehran leverage, but they also threaten nations that are not directly involved in the war. Disrupting the flow of oil and gas will hurt countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. It will raise the price of transportation, electricity, food and nearly everything else ordinary people must buy.
Iran may believe that economic pressure will force Washington to negotiate. However, the same pressure could bring more nations into the conflict and give American leaders another reason to expand the war.
That is not victory either.
The War Is Spreading
The greatest danger is no longer confined to the territory of Iran. The war is spreading across military bases, shipping lanes, oil facilities and neighboring countries.
Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz under pressure while the Iran-aligned Houthis have threatened Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have attacked Saudi tankers and threatened oil facilities near Yanbu and Jizan. This places additional pressure upon both major routes used to move Middle Eastern energy to the rest of the world. Reuters
Saudi Arabia built its East-West pipeline so oil could be moved to the Red Sea when Hormuz was threatened. Now tankers, ports and oil facilities along the Red Sea are also being placed in danger.
The entire region is becoming one great battlefield.
This is how wars escape the control of those who started them. One nation attacks. Another retaliates. An allied group enters the fighting. A neighboring country responds. A tanker burns. A military base is struck. Soldiers are killed. Soon, nobody remembers the original objective because every nation is fighting to avenge the previous attack.
The Bible asks:
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”
— James 4:1, KJV
Pride, power, revenge and the desire to dominate have carried many nations into wars they later wished they had avoided.
Working Families Are Paying the Price
Presidents, generals and government officials do not personally pay the greatest price for war. The price is paid by soldiers, civilians and working families.
American families bury their sons and daughters. Iranian families pull their loved ones from the wreckage. Sailors risk their lives aboard tankers. People thousands of miles from the battlefield pay more for gasoline, diesel fuel, food, medicine and electricity.
When fuel prices rise, the cost is added to everything transported by truck. Farmers pay more to operate machinery. Trucking companies raise their rates. Grocery stores pass those costs to customers. Families already struggling to pay their bills are forced to choose between food, medicine and utilities.
A war in the Middle East does not remain in the Middle East. It reaches into every home through the price of fuel, food and daily necessities.
Meanwhile, weapons stockpiles are being depleted. Expensive air-defense missiles are being used to intercept comparatively inexpensive drones and missiles. Every interceptor fired in this war is one less weapon available for the defense of America and its allies somewhere else.
Russia and China do not have to enter the fighting to benefit. They can watch while America expends weapons, strains its military, alienates partners and weakens its economy.
Negotiation Is Not Surrender
Some will say that returning to the negotiating table would show weakness. I disagree.
It takes no great wisdom to order another bombing raid. It takes courage to end a war before pride carries nations beyond the point of return.
Negotiation does not require America to trust Iran. It does not require Iran to trust America. It requires both sides to recognize that continued warfare is producing destruction without producing a lasting solution.
A serious agreement would need to address the issues that led to the conflict:
An immediate halt to attacks against cities, military installations and shipping.
Protection for commercial vessels passing through Hormuz and the Red Sea.
An end to attacks against American bases in neighboring countries.
Suspension of the American naval blockade.
Verifiable limits and inspections concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
Security guarantees that neither side will use a ceasefire simply to prepare for another attack.
Regional negotiations involving the Gulf states and other affected nations.
A method for investigating violations without immediately returning to war.
These would not be easy negotiations. There would be anger, suspicion and disagreement. Yet difficult negotiations are better than an expanding war with no achievable end.
The United States and Iran do not have to become friends. They merely need to stop killing one another long enough to prevent a greater catastrophe.
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
— Matthew 5:9, KJV
Notice that Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the warmakers.” He did not bless those who continually seek another enemy, another battlefield or another opportunity to display military power. He blessed the peacemakers.
The Bible also tells us:
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
— Romans 12:18, KJV
That does not mean ignoring evil. It does not mean abandoning national defense. It means that war should never become the first answer, the easiest answer or the only answer.
There are times when a nation must defend itself. But even a justified defense must have a goal beyond endless retaliation. If the only plan is to keep bombing until the other side completely submits, while the other side is equally determined to keep fighting, then the plan is not leading toward peace. It is leading toward greater destruction.
It Is Time to Stop Digging
There is an old country saying: When you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, the first thing you ought to do is stop digging.
The United States and Iran are both standing in a deepening hole. Every bomb, missile, blockade and threat digs it a little deeper.
Neither side is winning.
America has not forced Iran to surrender. Iran has not forced America from the region. The oil routes are threatened, military stockpiles are being consumed, soldiers are dying, civilians are suffering and the world economy is being placed in danger.
If this continues, the question will no longer be who won the war. The question will be how much of the region—and how much of the global economy—was destroyed before leaders finally admitted that there was no military solution.
It is time to return to the table.
It is time for both sides to stop demanding complete humiliation of the other.
It is time for honest negotiations, enforceable agreements and a ceasefire that protects soldiers, civilians and commercial shipping.
This is not surrender. It is not cowardice. It is common sense, moral responsibility and the beginning of wisdom.
“Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”
— Psalm 34:14, KJV
The road back to peace will not be easy, but it must be traveled. The alternative is a road covered with graves, burning ships, ruined cities and broken families.
Neither America nor Iran is winning this war.
It is time for both sides to stop pretending otherwise and start talking.
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