Twelve Christian homes were raided by intelligence agents today in a coordinated operation in Fardis, west of Tehran, at around 9am.

None of the Christians were arrested, but many of their personal belongings were confiscated – including phones, laptops, Bibles, Christian literature and anything else to do with Christianity – and they can expect to be summoned for interrogation in the coming days.

This is the second time in just a few months that coordinated raids have targeted Christians in the Tehran area. 

Previously, on the evening of 30 June and morning of 1 July, at least 17 Christians were arrested during a coordinated operation affecting at least 35 Christians in Tehran, sister city Karaj, and Malayer, 400km southwest of Tehran.

Most of those arrested were released on bail after a few days, having been charged with “acting against national security by promoting ‘Zionist Christianity’”. 

However, two were detained for over 50 days, and only released after their families deposited billions of tomans for their bail – the equivalent of around $100,000 in the case of Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian. 

Court proceedings against the Christians are ongoing.