Christians urge Western powers to take firmer line in Iran talks

Over recent months, more than 80,000 Christians from dozens of countries worldwide have signed on to an urgent plea by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem that the Western powers engaged in the current negotiations should hold firm in demanding the complete dismantling of the Iranian nuclear facilities until any sanctions relief is given to Tehran.

The results of the ICEJ’s global petition, which was signed by over 30,000 Christians from several dozen Western democracies, were delivered this week to UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Last week, the ICEJ-USA branch handed over the final results of its recent USA petition, which was signed by over 50,000 American Christians and also endorses the right of Congressional review of any Iran deal.

The petition notes that Iran’s renegade nuclear program poses an intolerable threat to the Middle East and the entire world. It also stresses that Iran is the world’s foremost sponsor of global terrorism, repeatedly threatens to annihilate Israel, and is engaged in military aggression that is undermining the stability and independence of countries throughout the region.

The petitioners demanded that any international agreement concerning Iran’s nuclear program must require that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program, and leave sanctions in place until Iran also relinquishes its destructive goals of spreading terrorism, destroying Israel, and achieving regional hegemony.

The petition states: “While we appreciate the ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis, we fear the agreement now under consideration will not prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. It contains too many concessions given the enormity of this threat and the untrustworthy nature of the Iranian regime. We feel we must speak up before it is too late, for the safety of ourselves and our children.”