Editorial: Easter in the shadow of war

As the world marks Easter Sunday, a day traditionally associated with hope, peace, and the triumph of life over death, we do so under the long shadow of war. The illegal and devastating American and Israeli military attacks on Iran, along with Israel’s brutal war in Lebanon and their widening regional and global implications stand in stark contrast to the message at the heart of this sacred day.

We are in a very dangerous cycle of war in the Middle East with no end game in sight. US President Donald Trump’s recent address to the nation was simply a rehash of his previous incoherent social media posts.

Trump shed no new light on how or when the war will end; instead, he came up with the claim that the US was “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly” – when the reality on the ground is completely different.

Trump’s rhetoric was also extremely worrying: “We’re going to bring them [Iran] back to the stone ages where they belong.” Childish threats from an incoherent president.

What makes this American-led war even more worrying is the fact that some American leaders invoke God and Christianity to justify their actions.

Pete Hegseth, without doubt the least qualified, most incompetent US Defence Secretary in history – who has sacked 20 generals and admirals because they did not share his MAGA agenda – recently ended a press conference on Iran by asking people to pray for victory in the war.

Hegseth had also ‘prayed’ during a religious service at the Pentagon that there be “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”. It’s tragic to see a man who claims to be Christian invoking God to justify his warmongering.

Pope Leo clearly rebuked Hegseth in remarks on Palm Sunday when he said God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have “hands full of blood”. The pope, who is expected to deliver a strong anti-war message today, said the conflict between Iran, Israel and the US was “atrocious” and that Jesus could not be invoked to justify war.

It is clear by now that Trump, who was foolishly convinced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take part in this war, is clueless, has no strategy, contradicts himself daily and lives in his own bubble surrounded by incompetent ‘yes men’ who tell him what he wants to hear.

A transition to a democratic Iran is certainly desirable – the regime in Teheran is brutal and despicable – but the US and Isreal’s ill-advised military option is getting nowhere.  There has been no regime change in Teheran after six weeks of war.  Iran has not been ‘defeated’, but in fact emboldened. The war has led to Iran attacking the Gulf Arab states, causing economic upheaval, a surge in oil prices, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and to serious divisions in NATO.

And according to US intelligence sources roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact, and thousands of drones remain in its arsenal. Furthermore, according to the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Iran did not rebuild its uranium enrichment capability following joint US-Israeli strikes against its nuclear programme last year.

This war of choice will go down in history as one of America’s gravest post-war blunders with consequences echoing for generations. On this Easter Sunday, we can only hope for the end of war and division and a return to the path of peace.