The Evangelical Church of Iran has called on the international community to intervene after the Iranian regime (IRGC) threatened to confiscate the assets of one of the last surviving Christian churches in the country.
The congregation at St Peter's, a Presbyterian church in Tehran, has been told that if they refuse to evacuate, they will face imprisonment.
In a letter to the international community, church leaders said they are under "severe distress" after authorities attended the church and its compound and gave the residents, who are mainly Armenian- and Assyrian-speaking Christians, three weeks to leave.
The letter, signed by the Executive Secretary of the Synod of the Evangelical Church of Iran in Diaspora (SECID), said the regime had previously confiscated a 10,000 sq m garden that also belonged to the church, which is now occupied by four IRGC officials.
The synod said that since negotiations for a US-Iran deal began, the regime has become emboldened and is "no longer afraid of the international community".
Speaking to Premier Christian News, a former pastor of St Peter's, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "People at the beginning were very optimistic. They thought probably they would see a different situation after the war, they would have more freedom, probably they would have the chance to elect their own government or political leaders, but this didn't happen and the situation is awful, because it seems that they see a very good chance to seize churches."
The regime claims that the church leaders allowed some church members to reside on church property and received a small amount of rent from the tenants solely for the benefit of the church.
The IRGC has now issued a new deed in its own name, claiming the church property as its own. It now considers employees and members guilty of trespassing on someone else's property and benefiting from it, even though they simply live in their own church compound and maintain the property.
The letter calls on the international community to help stop the "ongoing process of expelling Christians from their places of worship and the occupation and destruction of these properties by government-affiliated institutions in Iran... so that the basic right of Christians to live in safety and worship within their churches may be officially recognised."
It adds: "It is clear that without a swift response to this crisis, we may be deprived of our last remaining church centres in the country."
The latest threats follow the regime's destruction of the Evangelical Church of Mashhad on 4th June.