There could be growing tension between the USA and Israel over Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently urged the world to step up pressure on Tehran to halt its disputed nuclear program with tougher sanctions and threats of military action. He also renewed his past threats to take unilateral military action, insisting, “I won’t wait until it’s too late.” In contrast, a group of former senior U.S. experts and foreign diplomats have urged President Obama to show greater flexibility in the anticipated negotiations with President-elect Hassan Rouhani. An open letter from these senior experts to Obama reads, “While it will take time to secure an agreement to resolve all concerns, diplomacy will only succeed if we are prepared to leverage existing sanctions and other incentives in exchange for reciprocal Iranian concessions.” Rouhani has acknowledged the need for more flexibility. In his first post-election press conference, Rouhani said relations with Washington are “an old wound that needs to be healed,” although he did not commit himself to bilateral talks. The wound Rouhani referred to harms all Iranians. And should the situation deteriorate into war, it would be a nightmare. Christians in particular would suffer as some in the regime wrongly see them as being aligned to the West. Pray for •Ongoing peace in the region •Dialogue to be the priority for all parties, and for it to be fruitful •Wisdom for Rouhani and his team regarding the nuclear negotiations