Israeli PM Golda Meir once told a troubled Biden when he was just a 30-year-old senator that Israel had a secret weapon. It was 1973 on the eve of the Yom Kippur war, and he was on his first trip to Israel. “Don’t worry,” she reassured him, “We have a secret weapon in our conflict with the Arabs.” He leaned in to hear more… “You see, we have no place else to go,” she told him.1 That’s Israel’s secret weapon: we have no choice but to fight for our survival—and win. Losing would be unthinkable, so our forces are formidable. They have to be. But did you know about the secret weapon in Iran?
The not-so-secret weapon, hiding beneath the surface in Iran
Perhaps you know about it and perhaps you don’t but an estimated 50,000 mosques have closed and the gospel is spreading like wildfire in Iran. Many are turning their backs on the Islamic faith as a direct result of the brutal regime which beats and murders women for showing their hair, songwriters and poets for expressing dissent, and executes atheists and converts to Christianity. Despite the intense persecution of believers, Iran has the fastest growing church in the world, and it’s been that way for quite a few years now. It’s all underground though, and happening in secret—on the surface the Iranian regime presents the appearance of Islamic respectability, blustering and threatening and bullying everyone in the neighborhood. The Iranian regime (to be differentiated from Iran itself, as Iranians will earnestly insist) is the number one sponsor of terrorism in the world. Much of that it is targeting the one Jewish state not far from its borders, but Iranian sponsored terrorism has hit many nations around the world, especially in the West.
Under the veneer of Islamic extremism then lies a mighty underground church. This is Iran’s secret weapon, and it’s aimed at it’s own leadership: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But there’s more:
An army of Esthers rising up
One of the most remarkable things about this underground church is that the weakest and most vulnerable members of society are spearheading the multiplying movement of discipleship. Many brave women are spearheading the church under very dangerous circumstances, much the same as they are in China.
“The fastest-growing church in the world today is in the Islamic Republic of Iran” reports Frontier Alliance International2, “and it’s mostly led by women.”
When we consider attitudes towards women in Iran, it’s extraordinary that God has chosen the mothers, the daughters, and the sisters of Iran to rise up and intercede for their people, just like in the story of Esther from the old Persian Empire.
An imam in the regime has been recorded saying in a sermon that, “women are no different from cows, sheep, horses, or mules. God made women resemble humans so they wouldn’t frighten men.”3 The level of contempt, even hatred, is shocking. Just as in neighboring Afghanistan, women are despised, abused, and mistreated. Isn’t it just like Jesus to raise those women up for this noble calling?
“God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
How ironic. The underground church, and much of the revolution in general, is being led by women. More than that, the majority of the Iranian church (and people in general) love and support Israel. It’s the exact antithesis of Iran’s Islamic extremist, sexist and Israel-hating regime.
The love-link between Iran and Israel
Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president (who met his death in a mysterious helicopter crash in May 2024) had signed a decree in the summer of 2022 to impose harsh punishments for women failing to meet strict dress requirements. In September Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd, was beaten into a coma by the morality police from which she never recovered. Her death sparked an uprising of brave Persian women against the cruel oppression they were suffering, in which many more have given their lives. But guess who has been front and center, supporting these women in their cause? That’s right, Israel.
On October 29th, 2022, a huge protest erupted on behalf of these Iranian women in Israel. The Ministry of Foreign affairs posted on Facebook the following day pictures from the protest, with the words:
“Tel Aviv last night: hundreds of Israelis come out to support the citizens of Iran who are fighting for their basic freedoms. Our message is loud and clear: Israel stands with the people of Iran.”
The post also tagged then deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of this women-led revolution. The movement spread across the world, and Persians also gathered to protest in California. It was there that Hassan met Iranian-born Christian, Hooman Khalili. He had been challenged by San Francisco’s Art Commissioner to start a campaign of murals highlighting the issue. Hassan immediately invited him to Israel, saying she wanted murals on the subject in Israel . Khalili felt God was in it, saying to him, “I want you to do this”. He later said that he “really felt it was a heavenly assignment”.
There are no murals supporting Iranian women in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, the UAE, as Hooman says, The only country in the Middle East that is standing with them is Israel. And the amazing thing is that Iranians have supported Israel right back when war erupted after the Hamas massacre on October 7 a year later.
Better than Israel’s Iron Dome, the God of Israel is a mighty warrior. He promised to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel (Genesis 12:2). By throwing their lot in with Israel and rallying alongside them in the bitter fighting against Iranian proxies, the Iranian people are siding with God’s purposes against the powers of darkness and their own wicked rulers.
Activate the Esthers
“I started in January 2023 and I’ve done 17 trips in 21 months,” Khalili told me. He has just completed his eighteenth and final mural which is now proudly displayed in Jerusalem’s First Station. “I thought a lot about last mural has a lot of components to it.”
“In previous murals I talked about Esthers of the world rise up but on this one I put Esthers are rising up: it’s happening right now, in front of our eyes. They’ve heard and call and are rising up.”
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“This revolution is happening through women. They are bringing change in the Middle East for those will have eyes to see and ears to hear.” Hooman’s murals make visible the invisible women of Iran, and give a voice to the voiceless. He shares his hope that they serve as an inspiration and encouragement to everyone fighting for their freedom, to know that their sacrifice is not in vain. “They are not only remembered but they are remembered in the Holy Land”.
He emphasized, “I want the world to see the Jews, the Israelis standing alongside the people of Iran as they fight for their freedom – that is the point of these murals in the Holy Land is for the world to see the People of Israel standing with the freedom fighting people of Iran against the Islamic regime.”
“The relationship between the Persians and the Jews is biblical and every single one of these murals is rebuilding that bridge.” ~ Hooman Khalili
In the speech he gave at the unveiling, Khalili drew the connection between the Iranian Jews who fought against Hamas and the women of Iran fighting against their own regime. “This mural is a testament to the strength and courage of the women who have been murdered and the women who are still fighting. This mural also has the faces of two Persian Jews killed by Hamas on October 7th Shirel Haim Pour and Sahar Saudyan.”
These murals show the world that Israel is the only country in the Middle East standing with the freedom fighting women of Iran, and equally, Iranians have proved to be some of the bravest and most prominent allies we have had as the world has turned against Israel in this war. And you know what the Bible says about being a blessing to Israel…
The hand of God
The Iranian regime kills more Christians than almost any other country in the world, yet the women there have the courage to dance, show their hair, study the word of God and serve in underground churches. This is Iran’s secret weapon. The viciously oppressed prayer warriors of Iran are calling on the God of Israel, and He will hear them. Iran is full of hidden Christians, along with many atheists and dissenters who stand against the regime. The vast majority want to see an Israeli victory, and many are aligning with and praying for Israel.
Khalili prayed this priestly blessing over Iran:
“May the Lord bless Iran and guard and protect her people
May the Lord make his face to shine on Iran
And be gracious to the women of Iran
May the Lord turn his face towards the freedom fighting people of Iran and give them peace.”
Let’s join him in his prayer, and petition God for the regime to be utterly ended. A new Iran free of oppression would take out the support of all the terror proxies surrounding Israel. Just imagine a world with an incapacitated Hamas, Hezbollah, the end of Islamic Jihad and Houthi capabilities to fire at Israel. No fire power or equipment to carry out another October 7, and no more terror tunnels. This is what would happen if the Iranian regime comes to an end. Freedom not only for the Iranian people, but a reprieve for the whole Middle East. There could be a time where we could travel to one another’s countries, and the gospel could spread unhindered.
Iran’s secret weapon is the underground church, the Persian women and men who bravely stand with Jesus, with Israel, and who pray for the fall of the regime. Here is a passage Iranian believers hold to as a promise that God will work miracles in their nation. Let’s join them in prayer
“I will terrify Elam [Iran] before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord. But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 49:37-39)
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- Times of Israel, When Biden met Golda: New details emerge of storied encounter on the eve of war, October 20, 2020
- Sheep Among Wolves documentary by Frontier Alliance International
- https://x.com/realMaalouf/status/1851365057071808859
