Religious Minorities Face Escalating Crackdown in Iran
Religious minorities in Iran are facing increased persecution, human rights watchdog organizations warned in a report released on Thursday.
Almost twice as many Christians were arrested on charges related to their religious beliefs or activities in 2025 — 254 compared to 139 — compared to the previous year, according to the advocacy groups, which included Article18, Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern.
The groups also reported an uptick in the number of Christians serving prison sentences or ordered to do forced labor or go into exile. There were 25 such cases in 2024 and 57 last year.
READ: How Muslims Determine When Ramadan Begins Each Year
Iran, a predominantly Shia Muslim country, has long been hostile to religious and ethnic minorities as well as women following the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Last year, the groups said, seemed to be a particularly volatile year, as Iran, an ally of the Palestinian territories, and Israel engaged in a 12-day war over the summer. The short conflict culminated in the United States getting involved and bombing three Iranian missile sites, then days later pushing for a ceasefire agreement.
Some policy analysts called the conflict “a humiliating defeat” for Iran. Advocacy groups said that humiliation may have pushed the authorities to look for a “scapegoat” to blame, and found it in religious and ethnic minorities.
In a report to the U.N., independent experts noted “serious human rights violations” occurring in the Middle Eastern country since the beginning of the war: “The arrests reportedly include social media users, journalists, human rights defenders, foreign nationals, in particular Afghans, and members of ethnic and religious minorities such as Baha’is, Kurds, Balouchis and Ahwazi Arabs — all of whom are facing intensified risk of being scapegoated at this time of heightened political pressure.”
Religious minorities could face even more challenges following the protests that erupted in late 2025 throughout the country, which called for the end of the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Watchdog organizations have already observed a crackdown, with reports of many thousands killed and affecting every Iranian, regardless of their religious background.
The report also coincides with the Trump administration’s threats of military intervention in Iran — most likely in the form of air strikes — after the Iranian regime killed as many as 30,000 protestors since the start of the year.
At the same time, more than 50 Christians were arrested, according to a report from Iran’s own Ministry of Intelligence and Security. That report called the arrested Christians “Mossad mercenaries” — meaning Iran claimed they were working for Israel’s national intelligence agency. The Iranian report claimed they “were operating under the guise of the so-called evangelization [promotion] of Zionist Christianity.”
The human rights watchdog organizations also noticed a trend toward harsher sentences.
“At least 11 Christians received sentences of 10 years or more in 2025,” the report found. With dozens of others receiving punishment in the form of exile or deprivation of health, employment or education.
The watchdog’s findings align with what other human rights organizations have been saying for years. A 2023 U.S. Department of State report noted more than 1,000 followers of the Baháʼí Faith were either “imprisoned, in custody, under house arrest, or waiting for a hearing or to be summoned by a court” in Iran at the time.
Cassidy Grom is the managing editor of Religion Unplugged. Her award-winning reporting and digital design work have appeared in numerous publications.