President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials cast the rescue of a U.S. airman in Iran ​as an “Easter miracle” on Sunday, framing the operation in religious terms that portrayed the war as a just cause and divinely blessed, Reuters reported. 

In the past, administrations typically issued postcard-style Easter greetings, and critics said officials' messages this time had blurred the line between faith and policy by invoking religion to justify the war and shape the military’s conduct.

"The rescue was an Easter Miracle," Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press," and some cabinet members followed with messages of their own, according to Reuters.