Tag: Behnam Irani

Iranian pastor released after six years in prison

October 18, 2016 Iran Behnam Irani, Church of Iran, Exile, Iran

An Iranian pastor has been released from prison after serving six years for “acting against national security”. Behnam Irani, from the self-styled “Church of Iran”, was originally given a five-year suspended sentence in 2008. He was re-arrested in 2010 during a service at a “house church” and in 2011 he . . . Read More

Three Iranian Christians sentenced to 6 years each

October 23, 2014 Iran Behnam Irani, Church of Iran, Exile, Iran, Karaj

Iran has dropped capital charges against church leaders Behnam Irani, Abdolreza “Matthias” Ali-Haghnejad and Reza “Silas” Rabbani, but sentenced each of them to six years imprisonment to be served in exile in remote regions of Iran. Initially charged with “spreading corruption on earth,” a charge that carries the death sentence, . . . Read More

Iran appears to fight Islamic State, but are their ultimate goals too similar for comfort?

October 16, 2014 Iran Behnam Irani, Hamas, Hassan Rouhani, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islamic State, UK, UN, USA

ISISKarl-Ludwig Poggemann / Flickr / Creative Commons It says something about the depths of worldwide revulsion to the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” that Western powers such as the US and the UK have been sitting at the same table with Iran to discuss how to defeat the deadly Islamist movement . . . Read More

Iranian converts arrested

December 30, 2013 Iran Behnam Irani, Christmas, Converts, Iran, Karaj, Tehran

Five Iranian converts to Christianity were arrested while celebrating Christmas together in Tehran, reports Mohabat News. Ahmad Bazyar, Fagheh Nasrollahi, Mastaneh Rastegari, Amir-Hossein Ne’matollahi and another man with the surname of Hosseini were arrested on Christmas Eve at Mr. Hosseini’s house and taken to an unknown location. Meanwhile Mohabat News . . . Read More

Iranian Christians face ‘systematic persecution and prosecution’

May 20, 2013 Iran Ahmed Shaheed, Armenians, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Converts, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Youcef Nadarkhani

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani greets his wife Fatemah after his release from prison in September 2012.Nadarkhani family for World Watch Monitor Iran’s treatment of its Christian minority has come under fresh scrutiny in recent months with some damning verdicts on the country’s human rights record. Reports from the UK’s Foreign . . . Read More

Iranian authorities shut church in Tehran

June 8, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Armenians, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Churches, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Tehran

Authorities in Iran this week ordered the closure of a church in the capital, Tehran, amid a government campaign to crack down on the few recognized churches offering Farsi-speaking services, according to a human rights group. The order came from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence branch on Tuesday (June 5). The . . . Read More

Churches forced to stop Farsi worship in Tehran, Iran

February 17, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Armenians, Assemblies of God, Assyrians, Behnam Irani, Farshid Fathi, Iran, Shiraz, Tehran

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the last two officially registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran to discontinue them. Emmanuel Protestant Church and St. Peter’s Evangelical Church were the last two official churches offering Farsi-language services on Fridays in Tehran, according to Middle East Concern (MEC). Officials issued . . . Read More

Authorities raid house church in Shiraz

February 10, 2012 Iran Ahwaz, Behnam Irani, Farshid Fathi, House churches, Iran, Khuzestan, Shiraz

Iranian authorities this week arrested Christian converts from Islam while they were meeting for worship at a home in the southern city of Shiraz, according to sources. Officials are holding the Christians at an unknown location, they said. The sources put the number of the arrested Christians, who belong to . . . Read More

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