IT is incredibly hard to see your home country being bombed – but it might be the only way to change a brutal, corrupt regime.

That’s the view of some Iranian Christians worshipping in churches in Portsmouth. They may have fled Iran because of its repression, but they often still have family and friends living there. They’re praying not just for peace, but for a switch to democracy in their home country.

Our churches include worshippers from a huge variety of countries, some of whom were Christians before arriving in the UK, and others who have found faith since. And differences in culture, styles of worship and experiences of God add richness to our church communities.

Behnoosh Ajdadi, 57, was among those who came to the UK from Tehran in 2022 with her twin children Rozhina, and Arshia, who are now both 19. She found a home at St Margaret’s Church in Southsea. In fact, the church welcomes so many Iranian Christians that it displays its song lyrics and congregational responses in Farsi as well as English.

“I came here as an asylum seeker having become a Christian in Iran,” she said. “My daughter had been ill with cancer and I asked a vicar to pray for her. While he was praying in the church, Jesus touched my heart and I asked Jesus to help too. We went to hospital for her operation, and the doctor said ‘What has happened? We can’t see the cancer in her windpipe any more’. It was a miracle.

“So I started to go to a house church in secret in Iran. The government came and arrested my friends, so I ran away. I actually travelled to different cities and then through Turkey. And when I arrived in the UK, there was still a lockdown from Covid.

“I came to St Margaret’s on my 11th day here, and realised they had a community shop where they were selling second-hand clothes. I asked the vicar for clothes for my son and daughter, and he insisted on giving me some too. He invited me to his home for dinner, and we started to come each Sunday. It is great that we are able to worship in Farsi as in Iran we can’t even worship in our mother tongue.

“I still have family in Iran and we’re not able to speak to them. When we watch what is happening on the TV, it is hard. But we know this regime killed 40,000 people in two days just before the bombing, so I hope this bombing does change the regime.

“People are living without electricity, no power, no water. And there are a lot of sanctions. The regime is spending a lot of money on the military, as well as supporting terrorists in other countries. So it is the normal people who are suffering. I am praying for peace and for a change in the regime.”

And Marie*, 42, also found a home at St Margaret’s Church in Southsea. She joined the church in April 2025, and then moved to St Philip’s, Cosham, alongside the vicar, the Rev Fran Carabott. Marie had come to the UK in January 2025 to study for a second Masters in educational studies and is now working as a teacher.

“After a month of being here, I was experiencing anxiety and stress, partly due to being homesick and also because my sister in Iran was very unwell,” she said. “I asked a university friend about church and came to St Margaret’s because other Iranians come here. It was a Wednesday night and they were running an Alpha Course, so I joined in with that.

“I started coming on Sundays, and I felt better. And we prayed for my sister and she recovered from her injuries. I decided to get baptised in July 2025, and that was a massive change for me. I can’t put into words how I felt, but something happened in my heart and I started to walk with Jesus. Now I’m at St Philip’s in Cosham and on the welcome team.

“Back in Iran, I had had some feelings about becoming a Christian. The Islamic regime is so brutal and corrupt that people either become Christians or atheists. I had been involved in protests in 2022 during the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement. Thousands of people were arrested, tortured and killed, and I came very close to being shot in the street.

“In the most recent protests in January 2026, the situation escalated significantly, with more than 45,000 people reported to have been killed in just over two nights. Sadly, I also lost my cousin.

“It has been 47 years since the Islamic Marxist coup. Before that, Christians, Jews and Muslims used to live together peacefully in Iran under the Shah, and people experienced democracy then. But the Islamic Republic have slaughtered so many of our own people or put them in jail. And the taxes that we pay help to fund the military and terrorist groups around the world, while we get poorer.

“This bombing is our best chance of defeating the Islamic Republic. I’m obviously worried about friends and family, but there are 90 million people in Iran and 80 million of them want regime change. So many normal people in Iran feel unheard and unseen. So many of them would like to see the Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, in charge of a secular, democratic country of Iran.”

And Aryan*, 20, also originally started worshipping in St Margaret’s, Southsea, before switching to St Philip’s, Cosham, with Fran. He came to the UK as an asylum seeker in 2023 because his life was in danger from the Iranian regime. He was an Iranian man who had become a Christian and was worshipping in secret. He escaped through Turkey.

“At the time I was living in the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, and my friends told me about St Margaret’s,” he said. “I was in a bad place mentally, but I was welcomed as if I was family. At the time the service words were not in Farsi, but my friends translated for me, and then I learnt English. I moved to St Philip’s with Fran. It’s a little different, but I still feel welcome.”

Aryan is now studying GCSEs at Portsmouth College, having obtained permission to remain in the UK, and has found a more permanent place to live in the city. He also believes the bombing of the Islamic regime might be the only way to lasting peace.

“The regime did kill 40,000 people, and I don’t think dictators change their behaviour,” he said. “Before the bombing, I think Trump did try diplomacy, but it didn’t work. As a Christian, I do believe that war is bad and I would love there to be peace. But I would also like there to be democracy and freedom. In the UK, you have the freedom to pray and read the Bible, and I would like that for my home country.”

* names changed to protect those interviewed, main photo above AI-generated