Speaking to AsiaNews, the Chaldean prelate described a situation on hold, with schools and universities closed amidst great instability. Iraqi Kurdistan is once again impacted by foreign wars. People are concerned about the future and are trying to avoid being dragged into the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran. Christians pray for peace, remember Francis’s visit to Iraq, and receive support from Pope Leo XIV.
Yesterday, long queues of vehicles formed at petrol stations; the panicked population fears that stocks will run out and prices will escalate. Arguments and tensions among motorists in the queues. Power cuts also reported by large industrial groups. In Saudi Arabia, another Bangladeshi migrant worker killed by an Iranian missile strike on a residential complex.
The Lebanese government is working for a ceasefire through diplomatic channels. On the ground, Hezbollah continues its asymmetrical fight with the Jewish state. Christian residents are resisting evacuation orders. Originally scheduled for next May, Lebanon’s parliamentary elections are set to be postponed.
In a letter to the authorities and the people, the apostolic vicar speaks of days “marked by the pain and uncertainty of war”. He calls for a “common and tireless commitment to peace”. Iranian attacks continue, with two buildings and a hotel hit overnight. In the background are the sectarian tensions between Shiites and Sunnis that have inflamed the country in the past.
The chapel and ecclesiastical buildings of the archbishopric in Erbil hit by missiles and drones. Chaldean woman in Baghdad arrested for celebrating Khamenei's killing, faces four years in prison. Iraqi scholar tells AsiaNews: the country risks becoming an arena for external powers to “settle scores”. Institutional crisis fuels fears, emergency government needed.
Attieh Fard, a political leader and lawyer who has lived in the United Kingdom for many years, spoke to AsiaNews about a country willing to accept war to end the clerical regime, its torture and killings. The nomination of Mojtaba Khamenei is a source of concern as some see him as "worse than his father”, Ali Khamenei. The lack of external support for the popular uprisings and the need to protect the borders are important issues.
