Christians face 'scapegoating,' rising arrests in Iran amid political upheaval: 'Horrifying'

A joint annual report released this week highlighting rights violations in Iran warned that 254 Christians were arrested in the Muslim country last year because of their faith, and that Iranian Christians increasingly face "scapegoating" as they are blamed and targeted amid political tensions.

The report, released Thursday and titled "Scapegoats: Rights Violations Against Christians in Iran," was compiled by the nonprofits Article 18, Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern, and opens with a description of the severe repression against Iranians of all beliefs in response to the political protests that broke out against the hardline Islamic regime in December.

"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," the report's executive summary read.

Arrests reportedly saw a "sharp increase" in the wake of Iran's 12-day war with Israel last June, after which five Christians were charged with espionage and given a combined sentence of 40 years of imprisonment. State media also released a video report showing the confiscated New Testaments of Christians who were arrested after gathering in Turkey for religious instruction.

The report noted that while its focus is on the plight of Christians in Iran who have been swept up into the oppression, all Iranians have been subjected for nearly a half-century to a government that "not only consistently fails to uphold human rights for its citizens, but brutally quashes dissenting voices, opinions or beliefs."

The report said most of the Christians arrested for their faith in Iran last year were charged under a portion of the Iranian penal code that criminalizes "propaganda contrary to the holy religion of Islam," and that 43 of them were still serving their sentences by the end of 2025, and 16 others were in pre-trial detention. The number of Christians who were sentenced to imprisonment, exile or forced labor reportedly more than doubled from 25 in 2024 to 57 in 2025. 

"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 report also described the poor treatment of Christian prisoners in Iran, pointing to what it described as a "shocking moment" when a pregnant Christian woman was sentenced to 16 years in prison on International Women's Day.

One Iranian-Armenian Christian was "prevented from attending his mother’s funeral when she died two months after his re-arrest," and one of the Christians who was sentenced with him suffered a stroke in solitary confinement. Another Christian woman reportedly developed an infection after falling out of a bunk bed and being returned to prison too soon.

The nonprofits expressed solidarity with Iranians seeking accountable government instead of repression, noting that for nearly 50 years the regime has systematically violated human rights and suppressed dissent since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

"The road ahead for Iran appears far from clear, but as we release this latest annual report of rights violations committed against Christians in 2025, we stand with the people of Iran in their call for leaders who will act on their behalf, rather than repress them," it said.

The Feb. 19 release of the report marked the 47th anniversary of the killing of the Rev. Arastoo Sayyah, an Anglican pastor who was the first Christian murdered for his faith in Iran after the Iranian Revolution.

According to the Open Doors US 2026 World Watch List released last month, which profiled the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted, Iran ranked tenth-worst and was slapped with an 87 out of 100 on the nonprofit's persecution ranking.

In a population of more than 92 million, there are only about 800,000 Christians in Iran, according to Open Doors, which noted they 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."

The report dropped amid heightened geopolitical tension regarding Iran, with President Donald Trump reportedly having been briefed on multiple strike options against the country as U.S. military units continue to arrive in the Middle East.