Iran Seizes Historic Protestant Church in Tehran

Iranian authorities have seized the compound of St Peter Evangelical Church in Tehran, ending more than 150 years of Christian worship at the site.

Officials claimed the property belonged to foreign entities, although foreign missionaries had transferred ownership to Iranian Christians years earlier, according to Voice of the Martyrs.

The church was unusual in offering services in Farsi, Iran’s official language. Christian worship in Farsi is generally prohibited, but the congregation had been permitted to use it because its members belonged to the state-recognized Armenian and Assyrian minorities.

Authorities also evicted 20 Armenian and Assyrian families living on the ten-acre compound. The residents were given about two weeks to leave, while church leaders were threatened with arrest if they failed to comply. The site also housed a school and the offices of the Bible Society.

UN experts have called on the Iranian government to return the property to the congregation. The closure leaves Iran without an operating Protestant church offering services in Farsi.

They also said pressure on Christians had intensified on national security grounds since the war between Iran and the United States began. Iranian authorities frequently regard Christians as allies of the US and Israel.

At least 79 Christians, most of them converts from other religions, have been detained or imprisoned, with some subjected to torture, according to the UN experts.

(wng, lud)