(Photo: Wikipedia / Herbert Karim Masihi)
Iran’s decision to seize its oldest Protestant church has drawn international scrutiny, with two UN experts demanding an explanation. The recent confiscation of St Peter’s Evangelical Church in Tehran has raised alarms about the broader treatment of Christians in the country.
Revealed in July, Iran’s move to confiscate St Peter’s Evangelical Church also involved the expulsion of its Christian residents. This property, encompassing about 10 acres, hosted homes and facilities for the Bible Society and the Council of Evangelical Churches of Iran, impacting around 20 families from the Assyrian and Armenian Christian communities.
UN Special Rapporteurs, Mai Sato and Nazila Ghanea, addressed an official communication to the Iranian government on July 10 regarding the incident. The communication, made public after a 60-day embargo as per UN protocols, highlights concerns about a larger pattern against the Christian community in Iran, particularly targeting Persian-speaking Christian worship.
The officials noted that Iran’s actions are part of a broader trend, with other church properties being confiscated, closed, or repurposed without clear redress for affected communities. “There were once around 50 Protestant churches offering services in Persian in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Today there are effectively none because the three Anglican churches that were permitted to preach in Persian in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz have not been allowed to reopen since the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Despite the initial communication, the UN experts report no response from Iran. Currently, St Peter’s is secured by regime forces, further complicating the situation. The Special Rapporteurs emphasized, “Forced evictions of this kind are incompatible with international human rights law, and these measures have deprived a long-standing community of both its homes and its place of worship.”
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
