Cardinal of Tehran: “God is the source of peace” to heal hostilities between Israel and Iran

For Cardinal Mathieu, the end of the twelve-day war “has not dispelled the spectre of renewed hostilities. The question, according to the cardinal, is not 'if, but when”. In anticipation of World Peace Day, peace remains an “ideal and goal” also in relation to the “Jewish and Arab/Persian equivalents”. And may it be real “in hearts, in communities and in the world”.

Tehran (AsiaNews) - The ceasefire that ended the ‘twelve-day war’ between Israel and Iran ‘has not dispelled the spectre of renewed hostilities’, so much so that ‘the belligerents are preparing for the worst’ and the question seems to be ‘not if, but when’. This is what Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan of the Latins, writes in a reflection sent to AsiaNews on the theme of peace in view of World Day on 1 January, from a region ravaged by ‘tensions and conflicts’ that could soon erupt again.

‘Peace should not be reduced to a simple opposition to war, just as disarmament is not reduced to the antithesis of armament,’ observes the cardinal, while winds of (a new) war with the Jewish state are blowing in the Islamic Republic. And even within the country, there is no shortage of repression and imprisonment, as shown by the recent sentence of over 50 years for five Christians “guilty” of practising their faith, or the escalation of executions, the number of which in 2025 more than doubled compared to the previous year. More than 1,900 death sentences have been carried out, according to data from the Iranian-Norwegian NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), well above the 975 in 2024.

Nevertheless, it remains an ideal and a goal, even more so, the cardinal observes, when one thinks of the 'equivalents in Hebrew, shalom, and Arabic/Persian, salam. They indicate fullness, integrity, well-being, prosperity, health, security and harmony - not only the absence of war, but the presence of a fully realised life'. In this context, the warning at the end of the reflection becomes even more urgent: that peace may be real “in our hearts, in our communities and in our world”.

Below is Cardinal Mathieu's reflection sent to AsiaNews:

Every 1st of January, the Church invites the world to celebrate the World Day of Peace. Established by St Paul VI in 1968, this day is much more than a diplomatic appeal: it is a spiritual call. It places peace not in treaties, but in the heart. That human heart that only grace can transform and make truly peaceful.

The international press too often spreads the perception of the danger that some countries represent for others. Without concrete evidence, it fuels, day after day, the growing feeling of a threat hanging over the existence of part of the world. It then becomes imperative, we are told, to prepare for a possible confrontation, even a so-called preventive strike. The narrative thus becomes one of armament, justified in the name of the noble cause of peace. Opposing this is the narrative of disarmament, invoked for the same cause. The balance is broken, and the world order becomes chaotic.

In his speech on 22 December last year to the Roman Curia, on the occasion of Christmas greetings, Pope Leo XIV spoke of “a world wounded by discord, violence and conflict, in which we are witnessing a growth in aggression and anger, often exploited by the digital world and politics”. The ceasefire that ended the “twelve-day war” between Israel and Iran has not dispelled the spectre of renewed hostilities. The belligerents are preparing for the worst. The question is not if, but when.

It is undeniable that ordinary people want to live in peace, far from the horrors of war, as daily life is already difficult enough under the weight of sanctions.

Peace should not be reduced to a simple opposition to war, just as disarmament is not reduced to the antithesis of armament. Otherwise, it would appear abstract or confined to its secular and generic use - often employed in political, social or personal contexts to express tranquillity, the absence of conflict or harmony between individuals or groups, without any deeper meaning.

However, much richer than the term “peace” are the Hebrew equivalent shalom and the Arabic/Persian equivalent salam. They indicate fullness, integrity, well-being, prosperity, health, security and harmony - not only the absence of war, but the presence of a fully realised life.

At the heart of the story of Creation in the book of Genesis, God contemplates his accomplished work and proclaims: ‘God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good’ (Genesis 1:31). This statement emphasises not only the intrinsic goodness of creation, but also its beauty and perfect harmony, where peace and divine order reigned before the Sabbath rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). Thus, before original sin, the earth was a place of perfect peace, where man – the pinnacle of creation – lived in harmony with God, with others and with nature. The peace that reigned then was that of a world ordered by the creative Word of God, the source of all harmony. Although sin disturbed this peace, humanity has never ceased to desire its return.

If the Child in the manger reminds us of the fragility of the world into which we are born, his person (the Incarnate Word) bears witness to Emmanuel, “God-with-us”, the Eternal One who turns his face towards us and gives us shalom (cf. Num 6:26). Here, shalom is the crown of divine blessing: full peace, well-being, prosperity and security. It is God who creates and maintains shalom; He is its source, giver and true incarnation: ‘He establishes peace (shalom) within your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat’ (Ps 147:14). In a deep spiritual sense, it can be said that God is shalom, because wherever He is, He brings true peace - good relationship with Himself, between peoples and in the heart of man. One of the 99 names of Allah in Islam is As-Salam - ‘The Source of Peace’.

Peace, as inner unity (eirīné), manifests itself outwardly in an “unarmed” way, that is, free from the logic of threat and fear, but also “disarming” in its ability to dissolve hatred and open hearts to empathy, as Pope Leo XIV reminds us. It spreads like oil, crossing borders, faiths and languages. To receive it, we must allow Jesus — who is our peace, as St Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians (2:14) — to reign in our hearts and in our societies, promoting charity and justice, as the popes urge us to do.

We invoke God's blessing: ‘May peace (pax), eirīné, shalom and salam be real in our hearts, in our communities and in our world. May they be felt in our words, in our actions and in our lives.’