In Depth:  Iran

Luke Randall

Prison sentences given to Christians in Iran in 2024 were six times harsher than in the previous year, and over four times as many were arrested last year than in 2023, a new report has revealed.

The shocking new statistics were revealed in ‘The Tip of the Iceberg’, a report co-released by Article 18, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Middle East Concern.

Emily Pollok

Iranian Christians who seek a new life in the Caucasus nation of Georgia after fleeing persecution in their homeland face rejection there too, a report says.

A joint report published this month by Article 18, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors, and Middle East Concern says that Iranian Christians are being refused asylum in the country because they are not Orthodox.

Iain Taylor

Can you imagine waiting 24 years for the chance to be baptised?

That was exactly what happened to Maral*, one of 34 Iranian Christian women who attended Elam Ministries women’s conference recently in a country close to Iran. Elam’s purpose is to strengthen and expand the church of Christ in and beyond Iran. The women’s conferences have been going for over 15 years for Persian-speaking (Iranian and Afghan) women. The multi-day residential conferences enable women to enjoy Bible teaching, worship, fellowship, and prayer ministry.

Iain Taylor

Two persecuted church agencies – Release International and Article 18 – have hailed the news that there are now well over a million practicing Christian believers in Iran. Almost all are converts from Islam.

Daniel Pipes, a Jewish researcher and author, was one of the first to notice the trend. In Newsweek he wrote ‘Something religiously astonishing is taking place in Iran, where an Islamist government has ruled since 1979: Christianity is flourishing. The implications are potentially profound.

Iain Taylor

An Iranian secret agent who was gathering undercover intelligence to ensnare Christians has found himself unexpectedly coming to faith.

Now ‘Arvin’ has started a new fellowship group which includes two relatives – former regime hardliners – who have also come to faith through his witness. The story came to en via Elam Ministries, an organisation founded in 1990 with a vision to reach the Persian-speaking world for Christ. Its executive director David Yeghnazar spoke of the extraordinary story of this dramatic conversion that took place in Iran recently:

Iain Taylor

Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, a Christian Iranian- Assyrian rights activist, was born in Iran in 1985. In this interview with en’s Iain Taylor she reflects on recent events there and tells her story. She is no longer in Iran.

en: Can you describe your experiences with the Iranian Morality Police?

A pastor and his wife have fled Iran after the final appeal against a 15-year combined prison sentence failed. They are reported to be in a safe location.

Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz was sentenced in July 2017 to ten years in prison for ‘acting against national security’ by organising and conducting house church services. Shamiram Issavi received a sentence of five years in January 2018, for ‘acting against national security’ by organising small groups, attending a seminary abroad and training church leaders and pastors to act as ‘spies’.