Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Iran has killed at least 33 Christian ministers and detained more than 130 others tied to an underground church movement in recent months as the government intensifies its persecution of Christians, according to a Texas ministry that supports house churches in the country.

Iran Alive Ministries disclosed the deaths and detentions. At least 33 Christian ministers connected to the ministry have been killed in recent months, founder Hormoz Shariat told Baptist Press.

The ministry gave Baptist Press the names of 20 people it says have been persecuted, four of whom died, but said it could not identify 156 others. Of 131 members it says were arrested, 14 remain imprisoned, some on death row.

Shariat said 114 of those arrested are unaccounted for, four face prosecution but have evaded arrest, two were released under surveillance, and one remains under house arrest. Eight others have been released, he said, citing sources inside Iran.

Iran Intensifies Its Persecution of Christians

The deaths and arrests followed civilian protests in January. Iran Alive said the government killed roughly 40,000 to 50,000 people in the crackdown. Published estimates of the toll vary widely, from 3,117 by Iran’s government to more than 36,500 documented by Iran International.

The government has also banned religious broadcasts and, starting in July, made listening to them a crime, according to several groups that track persecution of Christians, among them Open Doors US.

Open Doors lists Iran at No. 10 on its 2026 World Watch List, an annual ranking of countries where Christians face the most persecution, citing Islamic oppression and what it calls dictatorial paranoia.

Despite the crackdown, many Muslims in Iran keep converting to Christianity, Shariat shared, citing 5,849 conversions recorded by Iran Alive this year alone, noting that the true number is likely far higher.

Shariat called the government’s criminalisation of Christianity a blessing, citing a Bible passage about people persecuted for righteousness, and said being declared a criminal under Iranian law is an honour.

Many Christians in Iran had hoped President Donald Trump would help topple the government after the U.S. went to war against the country earlier this year or believed a new government might rise on its own, Shariat said. “Every man who promised them to do something, they have let them down, but Jesus hasn’t,” he emphasised.

Prison Becomes a Place of Ministry

Imprisoned Christians keep trying to convert other prisoners, and Iran Alive keeps broadcasting religious programming that people still hear, Shariat said. “Christian prisoners consider prison as their place of ministry, and they are leading many people to Christ,” he said, adding that he has urged people to pray for the prisoners.

The persecution reports came as the US announced a fresh round of sanctions on 24 August, with Trump threatening an “economic D-Day” for the country.

Iran Alive said inflation in Iran has reached at least 65.8% and that 233,000 jobs held by women have disappeared from the labour market. The ministry has launched a trauma care program for the quarter of the population it says suffers from anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The January protests have also led to a separate wave of executions unrelated to religion, Iran International reported earlier this month.

At least 56 people have been executed in Iran on national security charges since 19 March, with 27 linked to the unrest, according to Volker Türk, the UN’s human rights chief. Türk said more than 100 others faced similar charges and urged Tehran to halt all executions and abolish the death penalty.

In late July, Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, led experts who urged Tehran to halt further executions, saying the mass trial violated fair trial standards.

___

Republished with thanks to The Washington Stand. Anugrah Kumar is a contributor to The Christian Post. This article originally appeared in The Christian Post. Image courtesy of Pexels.