Reports have warned that the United States and Israel considered a greatly expanded bombing campaign against Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure. The possible targets reportedly included oil refineries, export terminals, electrical power plants, and other facilities upon which the Iranian people depend for daily life.
President Trump has since postponed the proposed attack while talks are being considered. I thank the LORD for every bomb that is not dropped and every missile that remains on its launcher. But postponing destruction is not the same as ending the danger. Unless the United States, Israel, and Iran return to the negotiating table in good faith, we may be only one failed conversation, one missile strike, or one miscalculation away from a catastrophe that could spread suffering far beyond the borders of Iran.
Jesus said:
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
—Matthew 5:9, KJV
It is time for President Trump to become a peacemaker. It is time to stop threatening the destruction of an entire nation’s ability to produce electricity, refine fuel, transport food, pump water, operate hospitals, and care for its people.
This Would Not Be Just Another Bombing Campaign
There is a great difference between attacking a military installation and destroying the infrastructure that keeps millions of civilians alive.
If Iranian refineries are destroyed, the result will not merely be inconvenience at the gas pump. Trucks will stop moving. Farmers will have difficulty operating machinery. Ambulances may not have fuel. Food will not reach the cities. Medicine will not reach the hospitals. Workers will not be able to travel, and emergency services will begin to fail.
If major power plants are destroyed, the lights going out will be only the beginning.
Electricity operates water-pumping stations, sewage-treatment plants, hospitals, communications systems, food refrigeration, fuel pumps, factories, schools, and homes. When the electrical system collapses, everything connected to it begins collapsing.
Hospital operating rooms cannot function normally without reliable electricity. Kidney-dialysis machines, ventilators, incubators, oxygen systems, and refrigerated medicines all require power. Backup generators can help for a time, but generators need fuel. If the refineries and fuel depots have also been destroyed, how long will those generators continue running?
This is how a bombing campaign against “infrastructure” can become a campaign of death against ordinary people without bombs ever falling directly upon their homes.
The elderly will suffer. Children will suffer. The sick and disabled will suffer. Poor families, who have no reserves and nowhere else to go, will suffer first and suffer the longest.
These people did not start this war. They do not control the government of Iran. They did not select the targets or fire the missiles. Yet they could be required to pay the greatest price.
“The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.”
—Proverbs 29:7, KJV
The Destruction of Water Systems Could Kill Multitudes
Iran is already a water-stressed country. Much of the surrounding region depends upon electrically powered pumping, purification, and desalination systems.
Destroy the power plants, and water pumps may stop.
Destroy the fuel supply, and repair crews and emergency vehicles may be unable to operate.
Disable sewage systems, and human waste begins contaminating communities and water supplies. Disease then follows thirst. Cholera, dysentery, and other illnesses can spread quickly where clean water and sanitation disappear.
We must understand what is being discussed. It is not simply the destruction of buildings. It is the possible destruction of the systems that stand between millions of people and disease, thirst, hunger, and death.
Anyone who speaks casually about bombing power plants, dams, refineries, or water systems ought to spend a night in a hospital when the emergency generators are failing. Let him look into the face of a frightened child who cannot get clean water. Let him explain to a mother why her baby’s medicine spoiled because the refrigerator stopped working.
War looks very different from the bedside of a dying child than it does from a television studio or military briefing room.
An Attack on Bushehr Could Cross a Terrible Line
The possibility of an attack upon the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant should frighten every responsible person.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned that a direct hit upon an operating nuclear power plant could release large amounts of radioactive material. Even an attack that disabled its outside electrical supply could interfere with reactor cooling and increase the danger of a meltdown.
Those who imagine that America and Israel would be safe because they are far away are not considering the innocent people living around the Persian Gulf. Radioactive contamination does not stop at national borders. It can travel through the air, enter the water, damage fishing grounds, contaminate food, and threaten desalination plants serving millions of people.
An attack upon an operating nuclear power plant would not be an ordinary military strike. It would be gambling with the health of present and future generations.
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
—Proverbs 22:3, KJV
The prudent course is not to discover how much destruction the region can endure. The prudent course is to prevent that destruction while there is still time.
The Fire Would Not Remain Inside Iran
If Iran’s energy infrastructure is destroyed, Tehran would almost certainly face tremendous pressure to retaliate. Iranian officials have threatened American bases and regional energy facilities. The Strait of Hormuz could be further disrupted. Missile and drone attacks could spread to oil fields, refineries, power plants, terminals, and desalination facilities throughout the Persian Gulf.
That does not mean every threatened attack will happen. Neither does it mean every attack would succeed. But when nations begin destroying one another’s energy systems, retaliation and escalation become increasingly difficult to control.
Iran may strike Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, or the United Arab Emirates. Iranian-aligned forces in Yemen could threaten shipping in the Red Sea. Israel and the United States would answer those attacks, and Iran would answer again.
Before long, nobody would be controlling the war. The war would be controlling them.
The Scripture warns:
“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
—Hosea 8:7, KJV
Leaders may believe they can sow a few bombs in Iran and harvest an easy victory. But the whirlwind may sweep across the entire Middle East.
The Poor of the World Will Pay the Price
The Strait of Hormuz has historically carried approximately one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids. If Iranian exports are stopped and shipping through Hormuz is severely disrupted, oil prices could rise sharply. A modest OPEC+ production increase would not replace the millions of barrels that might disappear during a major regional war.
When oil prices rise, the effects travel around the world.
Diesel prices rise. Trucking costs rise. Fertilizer becomes more expensive. Farmers pay more to plant and harvest their crops. Ships charge more to transport grain. Airlines reduce flights or raise fares. Factories pay more for energy. Grocery prices climb.
Wealthy countries will complain about higher prices. Poor countries may face hunger.
There are families around the world already living on the edge of starvation. They cannot absorb another great increase in the cost of food and fuel. Humanitarian organizations also depend upon fuel to transport food and medicine. When transportation becomes too expensive or dangerous, aid does not reach the people who need it.
A child in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East may never hear of Kharg Island or the Strait of Hormuz. But that child may go hungry because grain became too expensive to transport.
A poor mother may never know which government fired the first missile. She will only know there is no food to give her children.
That is how the destruction of Iran could contribute to famine, starvation, disease, and death far beyond Iran. We cannot honestly predict the precise number who would die, but if energy systems, shipping routes, agriculture, water supplies, and humanitarian deliveries are disrupted together, millions of innocent people could be placed in danger.
The Bible gives us a terrible picture of war followed by famine:
“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.”
—Revelation 6:5, KJV
War and famine have long walked together. First comes the sword, then the empty marketplace, the costly bread, and the crying child.
This Is Not a Defense of Iran’s Government
I do not support the Iranian government. Neither do I excuse Iranian threats, attacks, repression, or support for armed groups. Wrong remains wrong, regardless of which flag is flying over it.
I also do not believe that criticizing Israel’s government is hatred toward Jewish people. Nor is opposition to American bombing hatred toward America. A Christian must be able to condemn wrongdoing wherever it is found.
My concern is for innocent Iranians, innocent Israelis, American service members, Gulf civilians, and hungry families throughout the world. Every one of them is a soul for whom Christ died.
We cannot claim to value human life only when the life belongs to our own nation or political side.
“Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?”
—Malachi 2:10, KJV
President Trump Must Choose the Table Over the Target List
President Trump now has a choice. He can listen to those who believe one more overwhelming bombing campaign will finally produce victory, or he can recognize that every round of bombing has the potential to widen the war.
Destroying Iran’s energy system may weaken its government, but it could also harden the determination of its people, strengthen the most militant voices, provoke massive retaliation, and close the door to negotiations for years.
There is no guarantee that diplomacy will succeed. Iran may make unreasonable demands. Israel may object. Negotiations may be slow and frustrating. But difficult negotiations are better than burning refineries, poisoned water, darkened hospitals, radioactive contamination, and starving children.
Returning to the table is not surrender. Restraint is not cowardice. Preventing unnecessary death is not weakness.
The Bible says:
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
—Proverbs 16:32, KJV
True strength is not measured by how many bombs a nation can drop. True strength is shown when a leader has the power to destroy but chooses the path that preserves life.
Stop Before the Whirlwind Comes
We are standing at the edge of something the world may not be able to reverse.
If Iran’s refineries burn, its electrical system collapses, Hormuz is further disrupted, Gulf energy installations are attacked, and regional water systems begin failing, the consequences will not be confined to a military battlefield. They will reach hospitals, farms, grocery stores, refugee camps, nursing homes, and the dinner tables of poor families around the world.
This is the hour to stop.
Stop the bombing.
Stop threatening civilian infrastructure.
Protect all operating nuclear power plants.
Return to the negotiating table.
Seek an agreement before retaliation produces another retaliation and one nation’s destruction becomes a worldwide calamity.
The LORD is not impressed by our missiles, aircraft carriers, military budgets, or boasts of overwhelming power. God sees the frightened child, the grieving mother, the wounded soldier, and the hungry family.
One day every ruler will answer to Him.
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
—Proverbs 14:34, KJV
My prayer is that President Trump will resist those calling for greater destruction and use this pause to pursue a genuine peace. My prayer is that Israel and Iran will step back from the edge. My prayer is that Christians will stop cheering for war and begin pleading for the lives of the innocent.
The pathway before us is plain. One road leads back to the negotiating table. The other leads toward darkness, hunger, famine, and graves.
Before the lights go out, before the water stops flowing, before the children begin starving, and before the whirlwind spreads across the earth, let us choose peace.
“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
—Isaiah 2:4, KJV
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