Is the war with Iran a just war?

 

“War itself is, of course, a form of madness. It’s hardly a civilized pursuit. It’s amazing how we spend so much time inventing devices to kill each other and so little time working on how to achieve peace.” – Walter Cronkite (Journalist, 1916 – 2009, USA)

Walter Cronkite’s quote can apply to the current war that the United States, or should I say President Trump has waged on Iran. Since “Operation Epic Fury” was started the human and financial cost has been very high. A lot of people have been thinking in the past month how to kill “the enemy.”  

Yesterday in worship at Chain of Lakes Church yesterday I shared a sermon on the Sermon on the Mount. (the sermon starts at the 18 minute mark at this link: March 8, 2026, Worship Service). I believe the words that Jesus shared on the Mount of Beatitudes make up the greatest sermon ever. The sermon speaks directly into our human condition. Who doesn’t struggle with worry or anxiety, who doesn’t struggle with forgiving others, who doesn’t want to shine light. Jesus shared a grand and glorious vision that can inspire and teach of us as individuals and as faith-filled people in community.  

At the start of the sermon Jesus shared nine beatitudes. The beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9) is relevant when we think about the United States war with Iran. As is the section in the antitheses section of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:44-45a)

The word “blessed” that described peacemakers in Matthew 5:9 is plural. Jesus was not telling his followers in this verse about individual peace or serenity. Jesus was saying that communities are blessed when they identify as peacemakers. We are blessed and live into the calling of Jesus when faith community stand up and advocate for peace.  

The statistics about the war are startling. According to National Public Radion the war has killed more than 1,200 people in Iran, more than 400 in Lebanon and eleven people in Israel. Over a hundred children were killed in Minab Iran in a United States air strike last week. Seven United States military personnel have died.

The cost of the war is also startling. Reports have estimated that the war is costing the United States a billion dollars a day. Each tomahawk missile that explodes costs at least a million dollars.  

Ultimately leaders in the church must follow the calling to be peacemakers. We’re called to speak out. To speak we must discern what Jesus would have us say. I think and wonder what Jesus would say if he was in meetings in Washington DE when the Administration decided to to to war with Iran.

It’s hard for me to believe that he would support this war.

According to a Wikipedia page on the topic, Christian Just War thinking is thought to have started with Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, before being developed further by Augustine.

I’m not convinced that Jesus would be in favor of the Just War Doctrine—as I believe that Jesus would be against any war. However the church has developed five criteria to help people decide if a war is just. 

The criteria are:

 Is the war a just cause

Is the war a last resort

Is the war declared by a proper authority

Does the war possess the right intention

Is the end proportional to the means

It’s worth applying each of these criteria to the war with Iran.

Is the war a just cause?

I think a person could make the argument that if Iran was about the fire a nuclear weapon at the United States then the war was just. Presdient Trump justified this current war by arguing that Iran was going to attack the United States. However no information was shared to back up that claim. The United States bombed Iran this past summer. President Trump claimed that  and claimed that Iran’s nuclear arsenal was completely and totally obliterated. Does this war make the claims to success in that bombing campaign a lie? Until the Administration publicly and openly makes the case with evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States, the answer to this question is “no.”

Is the war a last resort

If the United States or its military was on the verge of being attacked, then the war could be declared a last resort. The leaders of the United States could have gone through the painstaking process of making the casse to the allies of our country to join the United States in the war. It’s not clear if this happened. We know that most of the allies of the United States are not in favor of the war.

I would have much more comfortable is a group of allies of the United States had joined in declaring war. President George H Bush spent a lot of time lining up support among the allies of the United States before the first Iraq War.

It seems that the answer to this question is “no.”

Is the war declared by a proper authority

Congress has the authority to declare a war in the United States. And Congress still has not passed a resolution declaring war. Once again the Executive branch has bypassed Congress in declaring a war. Many Presidents of each political party have done this. The answer to this question is a definite, “no.”

Possess the right intention

What is the aim of this war? Is it to wipe out the nuclear capacity of Iran? Is it to overthrow the government? Is it to remake the Middle East? The words of the United States leaders and the actions of our country seem to indicate that some combination of these three make up the aim. Certainly, the aim is more than wiping out Iran’s nuclear capacity. If this had been the case then the United States would not have bombed a school in Minab, Iran that killed almost two hundred children. It is a huge mistake not to communicate consistently the intention of the war. Until that is done, the answer to this question is “no.”

The end if proportional to the means

The continued bombing of Iran and the Israeli bombing in Lebanon does not seem to be proportional to the means—certainly not the means of destroying Iraq’s nuclear capabilities. Again the answer to this question is “no.”

The answer to these five questions that make up the Just War Doctrine are all “no.” This was is not just.

What can we do?

Public Opinion in the United States is against the war. According to Real Clear Politics, the aggregate of polls about the war show that 49.2 percent are against the war while 42 percent are in favor. With the absence of any mass protests against the war it’s important to keep speaking up. Hopefully bombing will end soon. I have no idea what the end game for this war will be. The United States does not have a strong track record of leaving countries in peace—Iraq and Afghanistan. With this war seemingly so hastily started, I’m not encouraged that a solid end game plan exists.

 

Whatever our view on this war and whether it is just, we can all pray for peace. I am praying every day for peace in Iran and minimal casualties on both sides.