Democrats demand investigation of claims US-Israeli war on Iran is biblical prophecy

Nearly 30 Democrats in Congress are demanding an internal investigation into hundreds of complaints by US troops that the US-Israeli war on Iran has been framed to them as a biblical prophecy to hasten the return of Jesus Christ. 

Their letter to the Department of War's inspector general was obtained by the news site Military.com on Friday, and is signed by several progressives, including Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Washington state Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also signed the letter.

Commanders had invoked "religious prophecy and apocalyptic theology to justify the United States’ military actions in Iran", it said. 

“If accurate, these outrageous statements - justifying a war based on interpretations of biblical prophecies, and informing troops that they are risking their lives to advance a specific religious vision - raises not only glaring Constitutional concerns, but potential violations of Department of Defense regulations regarding religious neutrality and breaches of professional obligations and standards expected of military leadership,” the lawmakers wrote, referring to the Department of War by its previous name. 

They further asked if such statements are "part of a broader political climate in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and senior civilian officials have publicly framed Middle East policy in explicitly religious terms". 

US troops were told Iran war 'anointed by Jesus' to bring on Armageddon, watchdog says

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Hegseth himself famously wears a tattoo of a crusader's cross on his chest, as well as the word "kafir" in Arabic on his arm - a term used in Islam to refer to unbelievers in the oneness of God.

His donning of Christian nationalist symbols was a source of controversy well before his Senate hearing last year to confirm him to the top civilian role at the Pentagon.

This was among other scandals involving sexual assault, alcoholism, and racism. 

Vice President JD Vance had to step in and become the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, making it 51-50 in Hegseth's favour. 

Last week, Hegseth told the CBS News programme "60 Minutes" that he thinks soldiers should pray before battle.

"They need a connection with their almighty God," he said. "We're fighting religious fanatics who seek a nuclear capability in order for some religious Armageddon; but from my perspective, obviously I'm a man of faith who encourages our troops to lean into their faith, rely on God."

Risks

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an organisation dedicated to ensuring that all members of the US military are guaranteed religious freedom, told Middle East Eye last week that it had received more than 200 complaints from personnel serving in the army, navy, air force, marine corps, and space force. 

Michael L Weinstein, founder of MRFF and a veteran of the US Air Force and Reagan White House, told MEE that his organisation was continuing to be inundated with complaints from serving US military personnel who had been told that they should be excited to be part of the war on Iran, as it would bring about "Armageddon" and the return of Jesus Christ. 

“This is not just one rogue commander,” Weinstein said, pointing to the growing influence of Christian nationalists and fundamentalists in the US military.

"Public statements by administration officials and allies invoking biblical claims about Israel and the region - along with rhetoric suggesting a prophetic or religious dimension to geopolitical conflicts - risks emboldening similar messaging within military ranks," Democrats wrote in their letter, likely in reference to widely-panned comments made by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee last month, saying Israel has the right to take "all" of the Middle East. 

Those enlisted in the US military swear an oath to the Constitution, which separates the church and state, and not to any religious authority or to the president. 

Democrats are now demanding to know where such communications originated within the chain of command; whether they constitute violations of religious neutrality; what the scope and geographic distribution of complaints received within the Pentagon are; whether soldiers had fears of retaliation within their units; and if training in the military always adheres to the rule of religious neutrality.