Christian leaders have issued various reactions after the United States and Israeli strikes in Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and military leaders on Saturday, spurring Iran to launch missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases across the Middle East in response.

In a video on his Truth Social platform Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that hundreds of targets in Iran were hit, including Revolutionary Guard facilities, Iranian air defense systems, nine ships and naval buildings “in a matter of minutes.”

Trump claimed that Khamenei had the “blood of hundreds and even thousands of Americans on his hands and was responsible for the slaughter of countless thousands of innocent people all across many countries.” He stated that the attacks took out Iran’s “entire military command” and vowed that combat operations will continue at “full force” until “all of our objectives are achieved.”

“Last night, all over Iran, the voices of the Iranian people could be heard cheering and celebrating in the streets,” Trump said.

At least three U.S. service members have been killed in action, and five others were seriously wounded, the U.S. Central Command announced on Sunday. Several other troops suffered shrapnel injuries and concussions and will return to duty. U.S. government sources told Reuters that the U.S. troops were killed on a military base in Kuwait.

“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” Trump said. “And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”

The following pages highlight the reactions of conservative and progressive Christian leaders to the attacks on Iran.

1. Lana Silk of Transform Iran

Lana Silk, the president and CEO of Transform Iran, an Iranian-led Christian ministry and humanitarian organization actively serving people in Iran, called the events of the past few days “inevitable and sadly necessary.” She stated that tens of thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands of others arrested since anti-regime protests began in December.

“No one wants the loss of life, but the loss of life was continuing — and likely at much higher numbers than a targeted, decisive war will deliver,” Silk said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

“While every innocent life lost is a tragedy, we must recognize that the Iranian people have endured 47 years of systemic brutality under this regime, particularly worsened in recent weeks. Tens of thousands have died, and many more have been traumatized. There is no ‘normal’ in the way this government deals with its own people.”

“This was a situation that was impossible for Iranians to take any further without outside help,” she added. “They welcome intervention by the West and have pleaded for it for a long time.”

2. Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Evangelist Franklin Graham, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, thanked Trump in a post on Facebook for “giving the Iranian people a chance to be free.”

Graham, who also heads the North Carolina-based international Evangelical humanitarian aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urged his followers to pray for Trump and “those in our military who are risking their lives to protect America and bring freedom to the Iranian people.”

“This regime has been killing Americans for years, and we haven’t had a president who had the guts to take them on,” Graham wrote. “Thank you Mr. President for standing up to bring this evil empire to an end.”

3. Shaine Claiborne of Red-Letter Christians

Progressive Christian thinker and activist Shaine Claiborne, a pacifist, was among those critical of the attacks on Iran, saying in a social media post that “attacking Iran is terribly wrong.”

“Let’s be very clear.  Killing people is wrong. Attacking Iran is terribly wrong. We will never build a better world by killing other people’s children,” Claiborne wrote, apparently referencing allegations from Iranian health officials and state media that dozens of people, likely mostly children, have been killed in strikes that hit at least two schools.

U.S. Central Command told The New York Times that it is “aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations” and that it takes those reports “seriously” and will investigate, stressing that the “protection of civilians is of utmost importance.”

“Violence only begets more violence,” Claiborne wrote. “When we live by the sword, we die by the sword. Two wrongs never make a right. It is impossible to love our enemies as Christ commands and simultaneously prepare to kill them.”

4. Susan Michael of International Christian Embassy Jerusalem

Susan Michael, USA president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, condemned Iran for firing ballistic missiles and waves of armed drones toward Israeli population centers, saying they sent “families into bomb shelters and [placed] the region on high alert.”

“At this sobering moment, we are calling the church to prayer,” she said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

“We stand in firm support of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces who are risking their lives to confront what many security experts have long described as the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. Iran’s regime has armed and financed proxy militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah, destabilized neighboring nations, and relentlessly pursued nuclear and ballistic missile programs while brutally suppressing its own people.”

Michael asserted that “Scripture teaches that governing authorities bear the responsibility of restraining evil,” citing Romans 13:4.

“While war is always tragic and never to be celebrated, there are times in history when force becomes necessary to prevent greater destruction and to remove regimes that pose an existential threat,” Michael stated. “We regret that this moment has come, but we recognize the grave stakes involved.”

5. Rev. Raphael Warnock

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who pastors at the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, spiritual home of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Atlanta, condemned the attacks, saying in a statement that “Americans have long been weary of forever wars in the Middle East.”

“The Trump administration’s dramatic and deadly escalation in Iran risks yet another sad chapter of decades-long entanglements,” Warnock said. “Given the lack of a clear plan, it risks increased instability in the region while endangering American troops and harming America’s national security.”

The Democrat senator insists that a “wider regional conflict” will not make the world safer and “would increase instability and uncertainty at a moment when our focus should be on the pressing problems we face at home.”

“Let’s be clear: the Iranian regime is brutal and destabilizing,” Warnock said. “It cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. But the President has not explained why diplomatic talks that were underway this week are no longer viable and diplomacy no longer available. Instead, he has said in word and deed that this is war, a power that the Constitution reserves for Congress alone.”

6. Tony Perkins of Family Research Council

Tony Perkins, a leading Christian conservative political activist in Washington and a Baptist minister who heads the Washington-based Family Research Council, praised Trump for what he called “bold and decisive action” at a time “when it is necessary and justified.”

“The Iranian Islamic regime posed a serious threat to Israel and other peace-seeking nations,” Perkins wrote in a Facebook post.

For Christians, he stressed that attacks don’t mark a “moment for celebration” but rather a time “for intercession.”

“It is a time to bend the knee, not pump the fist,” Perkins wrote. “We must pray for our leaders and for the people of Iran. Our leaders are well aware of the geopolitical and military realities. Yet Scripture reminds us there are deeper forces at work (Daniel 10). Behind visible conflicts often lie spiritual strongholds that shape events in ways not immediately seen.”

Although he believes Trump made the “right decision,” Perkins warned that there is “more unfolding than what appears on the surface.”

“The days ahead may be complex and demanding,” Perkins said.

This is where the Church has a distinct and indispensable role — to stand in prayer, to seek God’s wisdom and protection, and to engage the battle in the heavenlies with spiritual discernment and steadfast faith.

This article originally appeared on The Christian Post.