Bishop of Chelmsford who left Iran as refugee after 1979 revolution warns of civil war fears as regime fights to survive
An Anglican bishop who fled Iran following the revolution has declared the Iranian regime is “in its death throes”.
The Rt Rev Guli Francis-Dehqani cautioned the regime “shouldn’t be underestimated” and is doing whatever it takes to cling on for another day.
In conversation with the Press Association, the Bishop of Chelmsford revealed she “weeps what for could be coming” and is presently unable to reach anyone she knows in Iran.
The bishop, who holds a seat in the House of Lords, also stated she believes Britain was correct to uphold international law and decline participation in the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Bishop Francis-Dehqani, 59, was born in Iran in 1966 and her father was Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, the Anglican Bishop in Iran and presiding bishop of the Episcopal church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
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Following the revolution in 1979, their home was raided, her father was detained and there was an attempt on her father’s life in which her mother Margaret sustained injuries.
Subsequently, whilst her father was carrying out duties elsewhere in the Middle East, her brother Bahram was killed.
Following the funeral, Guli, her mother and her sister Shirin reunited with her father overseas and they ultimately settled in the UK as refugees when Bishop Francis-Dehqani was 14 years old.
Contemplating the present circumstances in Iran, the bishop told PA: “I think that this regime is in its death throes, I genuinely do.
“But death throes can last for a very, very long time. I don’t have any clear sense of when it will end, but I believe it will end, and so I think they feel a sort of existential threat.
“I don’t think they really have a plan for how to properly reassert themselves financially, for example..
“I think everything they’re doing is about surviving another day, hence the brutality of the crackdown we saw at the end of last year into the beginning of this. I mean, it was utterly, utterly barbaric.
“I think everything they’re doing is about trying to survive another day and that shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Iran “constantly seems to surprise the West”, Bishop Francis-Dehqani observed, continuing: “I’m not a politician, but I imagine that President Trump is probably quite surprised at the response of Iran to these latest attacks.
“So, I think people underestimate their ability to have planned for this event – they probably knew it was coming.”
When questioned about the UK Government’s choice not to participate in the initial strikes on Iran, she commented: “I personally happen to agree that Britain should not have joined in the attack.
“I think he (Sir Keir Starmer) was right to say this does not seem to have legal status under international law.
“And, frankly, I know international law is virtually now in shreds, and this seems to be another nail in its coffin, but I think it’s right that we stood by that and refused to join the attack.”
Bishop Francis-Dehqani expressed her concerns that Iran could potentially spiral into a civil war, with all the associated bloodshed.
She stated: “There is no credible opposition around which people will coalesce.
“If the regime does kind of collapse in some form of chaos, I really worry that there will be civil war.
“There are factions who are seeking change, wanting change. Some of them are no better, if not worse, than what we have at the minute.
“And I really fear civil war and massive bloodshed.”
The Bishop further emphasised that any shift in power would need to originate from within Iran itself.
She commented: “The West has intervened so often in the politics of Iran, the people almost have lost the ability to to work out their future for themselves.
“So, I think the West, yes, give support to dissident groups, help the Iranian people, but they have to have agency in working out what comes next.
“And, certainly, democracy is a far-off dream. Democracy doesn’t come to a nation overnight, it has to be learned. And Iran has never been democratic.”
Whilst discussing her apprehensions, Bishop Francis-Dehqani recalled a message she received from an individual in Iran during the January protests, who informed her about terrorist dissident groups exploiting the turmoil.
She relayed: “They are killing government agents and, he said, beheading them, literally on the streets.
“And then the government isn’t discerning between the terrorist groups and innocent protesters, so I fear we would have more of that kind of thing.”
Whilst there were some accounts of jubilation in Iran following the Ayatollah’s demise, she expressed concern that as the situation unfolds and “the reality kicks in that this is not going to be over quickly”, the initial euphoria “will turn to real fear”.
She confessed: “I really weep for what could be coming in the coming days and weeks.”
The bishop revealed that she is “not getting anything out of Iran at the minute, my messages aren’t getting through and nothing’s coming out”.
She added: “I know that people who have close family and a lot of ties in Iran, this is a very, very difficult time, because obviously we have no news or information about friends, family, loved ones and so on.”
