A newly released human rights assessment says Christians in Iran are increasingly being targeted amid mounting political instability, with 254 Christians arrested last year because of their religious beliefs.
The joint report, issued Thursday under the title “Scapegoats: Rights Violations Against Christians in Iran,” was prepared by the advocacy groups Article 18, Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern.
Summarizing the broader climate of unrest, the executive summary states: “The response to those protests has been horrifying, with reports of many thousands killed, including several Christians, and every Iranian — regardless of their religious background — affected.”
Researchers documented a significant spike in detentions following Iran’s 12-day conflict with Israel last June. In its aftermath, five Christians were accused of espionage and collectively sentenced to 40 years behind bars. Iranian state media also aired footage displaying confiscated New Testaments belonging to believers who had gathered in Turkey for religious training prior to their arrests.
Although the study centers on the experiences of Christians, it stresses that repression extends across Iranian society. For nearly five decades, the government has ruled in a manner that “not only consistently fails to uphold human rights for its citizens, but brutally quashes dissenting voices, opinions or beliefs.”
According to the findings, 254 Christians were arrested in 2025 on faith-related grounds, most under statutes criminalizing "propaganda contrary to the holy religion of Islam." By the close of the year, 43 remained imprisoned and 16 were being held in pre-trial detention. The number of Christians receiving sentences involving prison, exile or forced labor climbed sharply, rising from 25 in 2024 to 57 in 2025.
While the overall number of Christians sentenced declined year over year, penalties grew more severe. “And although fewer Christians were sentenced in 2025 than the previous year — 96 compared to 73 — the combined total of their sentences (280 years) was higher than in 2024 (263 years), conveying a trend towards harsher sentences,” the report said.
The authors further described harsh prison conditions, highlighting what they called a "shocking moment" when a pregnant Christian woman received a 16-year prison sentence on International Women’s Day.
Expressing support for Iranians calling for accountable governance, the organizations noted that systemic human rights abuses have persisted since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and continue to silence dissenting voices.
Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, released last month, ranks Iran as the 10th most dangerous country for Christians, assigning it a persecution score of 87 out of 100.
Despite Iran’s population of more than 92 million people, the Christian community numbers roughly 800,000, according to Open Doors. The group reports that believers are "heavily and systemically repressed, as the authorities seek to root out what they see as a threat from the West to undermine their Islamic rule."
