Statement from Luke 10 June 26, 2025

Luke 10 is an organization inspired by the teachings of Jesus to love God and our neighbor, nearby and across the globe. In the aftermath of the multiple days of bombing by Israel and Iran, followed by the United States’ bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, our members in the US, UK, and Canada feel obliged by our mission to make a public statement.

For more than five years, our members have developed friendships with colleagues in Iran through faith-based conversations. Luke 10 leaders have engaged in online educational meetings, multi-faith exchanges, cultural tours and events, and national and multinational humanitarian service projects. Examples of webinar topics we have co-sponsored with educational institutions in Tehran and Qom include “Love and the Abrahamic Traditions” and “The Environment and Religion.” They have allowed for a meaningful exchange among top scholars and theologians in the US and Iran.

War, like any form of mass violence, is the opposite of patience and is a great obstacle to everything Luke 10 has strived for over the last five years. The friendships and understanding that exists between people and faith leaders in Iran and the United States were threatened by the bombings. Hopeful negotiations on nuclear nonproliferation were disrupted, hundreds of lives were lost, and relations between our countries were set back again. 

We pray for both the US and Iran that our leaders may act with restraint. We urge leaders of the United States to resume negotiations with Iran to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We pray for our Iranian friends and for ourselves—respecting the rights and sacred dignity of every human being. We pledge to work to build trust and friendship with our Iranian colleagues in the cause of peace.

— LUKE 10 Board