Report: US service members file complaints alleging commanders cast Iran war as ‘God’s divine plan’

Independent journalist Jonathan Larsen reported March 2 that dozens of U.S. service members filed complaints with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) alleging that senior military officers are describing the war with Iran as part of “God’s divine plan.” 

Larsen, a former MSNBC producer, said that between the morning of Feb. 28 and March 2, more than 110 complaints were submitted to the MRFF, a nonprofit that advocates for separation of church and state within the armed forces. According to Larsen, the complaints “came from more than 40 different units spread across at least 30 military installations.”

In a written complaint Larsen shared in his report, a non-commissioned officer (NCO) said a combat unit commander told troops during a readiness briefing that President Donald Trump “has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”

The commander described the conflict as “all part of God’s divine plan” and “specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ,” the NCO’s complaint alleged.

“What he did this morning was so toxic and over the line that it shocked many of us in attendance at the ops readiness briefing,” the NCO wrote in an email to the foundation, according to Larsen. 

The NCO, a Christian, filed the complaint on behalf of 15 troops, including at least 11 Christians, one Muslim, and one Jew. The officer added that the unit was outside the Iran combat zone but in “Ready-Support” status. 

MRFF President Mikey Weinstein said in a statement to Larsen that the complaints share a common theme: “our MRFF clients report the unrestricted euphoria of their commanders and command chains as to how this new ‘biblically-sanctioned’ war is clearly the undeniable sign of the expeditious approach of the fundamentalist Christian ‘End Times’ as vividly described in the New Testament Book of Revelation.”

Weinstein warned that commanders who celebrate how “bloody all of this must become” to align with “fundamentalist Christian end of the world eschatology” may violate constitutional protections and military law. He said personnel who advance such views in official capacities should face action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 

The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed the allegations. 

Larsen argued in his report that evangelical Christianity has gained influence within senior military leadership. War Secretary Pete Hegseth “has enshrined evangelical Christianity at the uppermost levels of the U.S. military, airing monthly prayer meetings throughout the Pentagon,” Larsen said. He added that Hegseth attends a weekly White House Bible study that is led “by a preacher who says God commands America to support Israel.” 

A video that recently resurfaced online shows Hegseth in 2018 discussing the possibility of rebuilding a third Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – an eventuality that Church Fathers associated with the imminent arrival of the Antichrist.

“There’s no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of the temple on the Temple Mount is not possible,” Hegseth said during a 2018 speech at the Arutz Sheva conference in Jerusalem. He added, “I don’t know how it would happen. You don’t know how it would happen, but I know that it could happen.”

The Trump administration has defended the war with Iran as a necessary preemptive action amid Iran’s refusal to agree to U.S. demands that it would not rebuild its nuclear program.

Just before the joint Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran Feb. 28, Oman Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi — the primary mediator in negotiations with Iran — announced a “breakthrough” in the talks and said a deal was “within reach” because Iran agreed to “never ever have nuclear material that will create a bomb,” Zeale News previously reported.

However, Trump said from the White House on March 2 that his administration “thought we had a deal” with Iran, “but then they backed out.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 2 that the U.S. strikes on Iran were carried out to prevent greater American casualties because the administration “knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” that would “precipitate an attack against American forces,” Zeale News previously reported. Iran had made clear, Rubio said, that it would respond to any Israeli attack by targeting the U.S.

Rubio’s statements ignited public speculation as to whether Israel pressured Washington to act, but on March 3, Trump rejected any such suggestion when he was asked if Israel forced the U.S. to intervene. 

“Iran was going to attack first,” he said, adding, “If anything, I might’ve forced Israel’s hand.”