Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has announced the arrest of 53 Christians since June, following the conflict with Israel now referred to as the “12-day war.”
In a statement, Iranian authorities described those detained as “Mossad mercenaries” — a reference to Israel’s intelligence agency — and accused them of being trained by foreign churches “under the guise of the Zionist Christian evangelization movement.” Officials allege the group engaged in activities “contrary to security” and claim weapons were also seized.
The Ministry distinguished between evangelical Christians — who are frequently targeted — and the Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities, who are officially recognized and described as “loyal” supporters of the regime.
Iran is an Islamic Republic, with 99 percent of its population identifying as Muslim. About 100,000 Armenians and Assyrians live in the country and are permitted to worship in their own languages, but not to teach or worship in Persian. It is illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity.
According to Article 18, an organization monitoring religious freedom in Iran, at least 11 of the 53 Christians arrested have been released on bail. More than 40 remain imprisoned, reportedly for “gathering” together for worship in a neighboring country.
Because of the ban on conversion and the risk of persecution, many new Christians are forced to travel abroad to neighboring nations for spiritual support.
Mansour Borji, director of Article 18, told the Zenit news agency: “In this case, we know that some of the Christians arrested recently participated in a gathering in a neighboring country organized by a foreign church.
“They are forbidden to participate in such gatherings inside Iran. Upon their return, they were arrested.”
He added: “There is no independent or fair judicial system in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, all those arrested on charges of security, political, ideological, or ‘espionage’ offenses are denied a fair trial, subjected to severe torture, and do not even have access to an independent lawyer.”