The Bishop of Chelmsford has said she is praying for a “peaceful resolution that will lead to justice and freedom” in Iran.
Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, who was born in Iran, said while the situation “will raise hopes for many about the possibility of a regime change”, it was impossible to predict the country’s future.
She was speaking as at least 500 people are reported to have been killed during anti-government rallies across the country.
Bishop Guli fled the country after the attempted assassination of her father Rt Rev Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, who was Bishop of the Anglican Church in Iran during events leading to the 1979 revolution. Her 24 year old brother Bahram was murdered in 1980.
In a statement, Bishop Guli said the current events “will raise hopes for many about the possibility of a regime change”, but were being met with “the inevitable brutal response from the authorities."
"There is no doubt that the current administration appears to be in its final throes and fighting for survival, though it’s impossible to predict the timing," she added. "Whether the end will be soon, or is still some way off, no one can say. The real question for Iran is what will follow. My prayers are for a peaceful resolution that will lead to justice and freedom.”
Bishop Guli's comments come as a Christian lawyer who was born in Iran has told Premier the protestors have real hope they can overthrow the regime:
“The main slogan that we are hearing is that this is the last fight. This is repeated across various demonstrations. Despite the internet disconnection and complete blackout of even telephone communications, people are going out night after night and are taking matters into their own hands.”
She added that people are hopeful Donald Trump’s threat to intervene will help effect change:
“I think it is a point in history, because Trump is promising to take action. We have never seen the US government saying that they would support any of the previous movements... Live ammunition is being fired at people. How many more people have to die before there is a military intervention by the US or other countries?”
Attieh Fard is calling on the UK government to refer Iran to the International Criminal Court.