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Iran

• Over 50 Arrested Christians Accused of Espionage

  

  Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) recently reported that over 50 Christians have been arrested since the end of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel in June 2025. The country's intelligence agency labelled the detained believers as "Mossad mercenaries," claiming that they had been trained by churches abroad and were now operating "under the guise of the Zionist Christian evangelization movement."

• Convicted Christian Deported and Arrested

  

  On March 8th, Mehran Shamloui was one of three Christians convicted in Iran for "propaganda" and membership in an alleged "opposition group." He was sentenced to more than ten years in prison. (For more details, see this report.)

• Laleh Saati Receives Conditional Release

  

  Laleh Saati is a Christian convert and former asylum-seeker who was incarcerated in February 2024 and sentenced to two years in prison. (For more information on the imprisonment of this 46-year-old Iranian follower of Jesus, visit this page.)Throughout Laleh's time in custody, concerns have been raised about her physical health and psychological well-being. Most recently, it was reported that the Christian woman was denied needed medical treatment for a hand injury that had occurred as a result of a fall.

• Letter From Imprisoned Christian Reveals Abusive Treatment

  

  Hakop Gochumyan and his wife Elisa are citizens of Armenia who were visiting Iran in August 2023. While this Christian couple were having dinner with friends, government agents raided the gathering, resulting in their arrest. Eventually, Elisa was released on bail and permitted to return to Armenia with their children. However, Hakop was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly "engaging in deviant proselytizing activity." For more details, see our previously posted report.

• Detained Pastor's Wife in Solitary Confinement

  

  In 2022, Pastor Joseph Shahbazian was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his Christian ministry work in Iran. After an appeal, he was released a year later. For unknown reasons, however, he was suddenly rearrested on February 6th of this year, and now reportedly faces numerous charges. For more details, see this report.

• Appeal Denied for Three Christian Converts

  

  On March 8th, three Christian converts in Iran, including a woman pregnant with her first child, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for participating in activities relating to their religious beliefs. (More details about the charges against these believers are available at VOMC's previously published report.)

• Imprisoned Pastor Suffers Stroke

  

  In 2017, Pastor Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced to ten years in prison for his Christian ministry activities. Though pardoned and released in 2022, the pastor was suddenly rearrested on February 6th of this year. (Read more.)

• Imprisoned Christian Beaten for Medical Request

  

  Amir-Ali Minaei has been held in Tehran's Evin Prison since April 2024. The Christian man is presently serving a 43-month term for "propaganda activities against the regime through establishing a house church."

• Three Christians Facing Lengthy Prison Sentences

  

  Three Christian converts, including a woman who is pregnant with her first child, have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences on charges relating to their religious beliefs and worship meetings. The Iranian believers were sentenced by Judge Iman Afshari at a Revolutionary Court on March 8th.

• Two Pardoned Pastors Rearrested

  

  While Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh had been sentenced in 2017 to ten years' imprisonment because of his Christian ministry, he was suddenly pardoned and released in 2022. Similarly, Joseph Shahbazian, a house church leader who had likewise been sentenced to ten years in 2022, was released after just over a year following an appeal of his sentence. More information on Nasser's case is available here.