US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has credited divine intervention for the temporary ceasefire in Iran, which took effect on Tuesday after six weeks of fighting. In a speech marking the halt in hostilities, Hegseth repeatedly invoked “God’s almighty providence” and expressed certainty that God is on the side of the US military. The ceasefire follows a controversial US bombing campaign that included a 28 February strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran, which killed more than 175 people, most of them children.
Hegseth, a member of an obscure Calvinist wing of evangelical Christianity, has consistently framed the conflict as a holy war. At a Pentagon worship service on 25 March, he prayed for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”. The prayer drew a rare rebuke from Pope Leo, who preached on Palm Sunday that God ignores the prayers of those whose “hands are full of blood”. Hegseth, however, rejects papal authority, adhering to a belief in predestination that holds all events—including the school bombing—as part of God’s will.
Critics question the strategic rationale for the war, noting that the US had avoided direct conflict with Iran for 47 years. The bombing campaign has led to deadly attacks on US bases and allies, global economic fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and a consolidation of power by the Iranian regime. Hegseth’s disdain for diplomacy and his “Crusader tattoos” have raised concerns that religious ideology may be driving US military policy.
Neither President Donald Trump nor Hegseth has expressed remorse for the school bombing. Instead, Hegseth has promised to give “no quarter” to the “barbaric savages” of the Iranian regime and called on Americans to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ”. The ceasefire, while welcomed, remains fragile, with no clear path to a permanent peace.
