Tag: Tehran

Iranian converts arrested

December 30, 2013 Iran Behnam Irani, Christmas, Converts, Iran, Karaj, Tehran

Five Iranian converts to Christianity were arrested while celebrating Christmas together in Tehran, reports Mohabat News. Ahmad Bazyar, Fagheh Nasrollahi, Mastaneh Rastegari, Amir-Hossein Ne’matollahi and another man with the surname of Hosseini were arrested on Christmas Eve at Mr. Hosseini’s house and taken to an unknown location. Meanwhile Mohabat News . . . Read More

Iranian Christian jailed for 10 years freed

November 5, 2013 Iran Evin Prison, Hassan Rouhani, Maryam Jalili, Mitra Rahmati, Mostafa Bordbar, Saeed Abedini, Tehran

An Iranian Christian sentenced to 10 years in prison has been released after three months. Mostafa Bordbar, 27, was released Nov. 3 from Tehran’s Evin Prison after charges of participating in an “anti-security organisation” and “gathering with intent to commit crimes against Iranian national security” were overturned. Bordbar was arrested . . . Read More

Iranian Christians continue to face arrest, imprisonment

July 25, 2013 Iran Apostasy, Converts, Ebrahim Firouzi, Exile, Mostafa Bordbar, Shiraz, Tehran

Ebrahim Firouzi, 28, jailed for “promoting Christian Zionism, attempting to launch a Christian website, contact with suspicious foreigners and running online church service”.Mohabat News The steady flow of Iranian Christians facing arrest and imprisonment on spurious charges continues. In Shiraz, famous for its cultural significance to Iranians as the . . . Read More

‘Freed’ Asseriyan sworn to silence

July 4, 2013 Iran Assemblies of God, Iran, Robert Asseriyan, Tehran

Robert Asseriyan, the Iranian pastor arrested during a church service on May 21, has been freed, Mohabat News reports. Asseriyan, of the Assemblies of God Church in Tehran, was reportedly released on bail on July 2. Mohabat says the condition for his freedom is for him to remain silent, after . . . Read More

Rouhani victory ‘not free nor fair’

June 19, 2013 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Elections, Hassan Rouhani, Iran, Tehran

Iran’s elections were neither free nor fair, according to Mansour Osanloo, former President of the Tehran Bus Driver’s Union, writing for the New York Times. Hassan Rouhani won the June 15 election, but the real power, Osanloo said, still lies with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian pastor arrested

May 23, 2013 Iran Assemblies of God, Iran, Robert Asseriyan, Tehran

An Iranian pastor was arrested on Tuesday (May 21) in the midst of a church service in central Tehran. Churches in Iran are under increasing pressure to stop all services held in Farsi, reports Mohabat News. Robert Asseriyan, pastor of the Assemblies of God church, was arrested and taken to an . . . Read More

Wife worries she won’t hear husband’s voice for 8 years

January 29, 2013 Iran Evin Prison, House churches, Iran, Saeed Abedini, Tehran, USA

The wife of an American citizen sentenced to an Iranian prison for eight years expects she won’t hear from her husband until 2021, unless U.S. pressure is able to pry him free. Naghmeh Shariat Panahi told World Watch Monitor that the last time she heard Saeed Abedini’s voice was Jan. . . . Read More

Iranian authorities shut church in Tehran

June 8, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Armenians, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Churches, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Tehran

Authorities in Iran this week ordered the closure of a church in the capital, Tehran, amid a government campaign to crack down on the few recognized churches offering Farsi-speaking services, according to a human rights group. The order came from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence branch on Tuesday (June 5). The . . . Read More

Iranian officials heighten control on Farsi-speaking church

May 11, 2012 Iran Armenians, Assemblies of God, Assyrians, Churches, Iran, Tehran

Leaders of the Assemblies of God’s (AOG) Central Church of Tehran told their congregation on Sunday (May 6) that authorities have demanded a list of names and identification numbers of church members, a major risk to converts from Islam. Church leaders then asked members in attendance to volunteer their information. . . . Read More

Lawyer of Iranian pastor on death row faces prison

May 8, 2012 Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Converts, Evin Prison, Farshid Fathi, Human rights, Iran, Isfahan, Karaj, Missionaries, Shiraz, Tehran, Youcef Nadarkhani

The main defense lawyer for Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who is appealing a death sentence, may be facing imminent imprisonment for defending the rights of Iranians, according to Amnesty International. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a prominent human rights activist, had been sentenced in July to a nine-year prison sentence and a . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye