As Iran teeters on the brink of civil war, Christians are called to justice, mercy and prayer

With Iran experiencing brutal crackdowns on protesters and US military forces positioned nearby, the Middle East faces another potential crisis. But as Christians witness this unfolding tragedy, we’re not called to respond with panic or indifference, says Tim Farron MP, but with humble dependence on God

“Why is the state denying me the means to live?” After a month of riots and strikes – driven by this haunting question – Iran seems to be teetering on the brink of civil war.

France’s General De Gaulle once dismissively branded Britain “a nation of shopkeepers” but, in the case of Iran, that is especially so. It was the small shopkeepers whose change of allegiance in 1979 saw the fall of the Shah and the coming to power of Ayatollah Khomeini. Over recent weeks, those same small shopkeepers’ struggle to keep pace with the collapsing currency prompted waves of protests that erupted in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on 8 January, spreading to more deprived towns and converging once again on the capital.

Along with the shopkeepers - or Bazaaris, as they are known - many workers also seem to have rejected the regime, showing favour instead towards the former Shah’s son. Yet this has come at an immense cost. The revolutionary guard’s brutal crackdown has choked Tehran’s streets with tear gas and imposed frequent blackouts. In just one overwhelmed morgue, the BBC counted 186 bodies. Victims of state reprisals and repression. Thousands more are presumed to have died.