Iran Raids House Churches Like Terror Cells

Iran’s regime is treating Christian worship like a national-security crime—using raids, spyware, and long prison terms to crush house churches that refuse to bow to the state.

Story Snapshot

Iran’s 2021 penal code changes expanded prison exposure for “deviant propaganda,” a tool monitors say is now widely used against Christian converts.
Reports document a sharp spike in arrests and sentencing, including 96 Christians sentenced to a combined 263 years in 2024.
Converts from Islam face the harshest pressure, while officially recognized Armenian and Assyrian churches operate under tight restrictions.
Nationwide unrest and internet blackouts have made verification harder, but multiple monitors describe heightened danger for Christians since late 2025.

How Iran’s System Targets Converts and House Churches

Iran’s constitution and legal system prioritize Shiite Islam, and authorities treat many forms of Christian activity—especially conversion from Islam—as an internal threat. Monitors describe a two-tier reality: ethnic Armenian and Assyrian congregations can exist in a constrained space, but Persian-language worship and evangelism are heavily restricted. Converts often meet in small house churches, which are vulnerable to raids, arrests, and interrogations that frame ordinary religious practice as subversion.

Legal pressure intensified after a 2021 amendment to Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, widely referenced as Article 500, which increased penalties tied to “propaganda” and “deviant” activity. Tracking groups report that vague national-security style allegations are frequently applied to Christians connected to house churches, enabling prosecutions that look less like law enforcement and more like ideological control. The bottom line for ordinary families is simple: meeting, praying, or sharing faith can carry life-altering risk.

Arrests, Sentences, and the Scale of the Crackdown

Documentation compiled by multiple monitors points to a pronounced jump in both the number of cases and the severity of punishment. One report describes 139 arrests during 2024 and notes that courts handed down sentences totaling 263 years to 96 Christians—far exceeding the prior year’s combined total. Separate reporting also highlights steep financial penalties, with fines reported near $800,000 in 2024, adding economic destruction on top of imprisonment.

Individual cases illustrate what those numbers mean in human terms. Reports cite a 2020 case in which a judge reportedly told a Christian convert it was a “disgrace” for him to “breathe the air” in the courtroom while issuing a 10-year sentence. In March 2025, a Tehran court sentenced three converts—Narges Nasri, Abbas Soori, and Mehran Shamloui—to more than 41 years combined for involvement with a house church network, according to the compiled research.

Surveillance, Fear, and Life Under Protest Conditions

Security risk is not limited to the moment of arrest. The research describes pervasive surveillance, including phone monitoring and spyware, along with post-release harassment such as job denial, exile-like restrictions, or forced “re-education.” When the state can watch communications, even basic community life becomes dangerous: arranging a prayer meeting, checking on a believer after a raid, or storing religious materials can create a digital trail that authorities interpret as organized dissent.

Nationwide unrest in late 2025 and into early 2026 appears to have worsened the environment for minorities, including Christians. Reports describe a climate of tanks, patrols, shootings, and blackouts that reduce reliable information and discourage people from public life, including visits to hospitals. Death-toll estimates vary widely across sources, a gap attributed to restricted media and disrupted internet, but monitors broadly agree the instability has increased vulnerability for those already in the crosshairs.

Why This Matters to Americans Watching Religious Liberty Abroad

The documented pattern in Iran highlights what happens when a regime fuses ideology with policing power: beliefs become prosecutable, speech becomes “propaganda,” and private gatherings become “security” events. For Americans who value the First Amendment, the reporting is a stark reminder that religious liberty is not self-sustaining—it depends on constitutional limits that restrain government. The research also suggests persecution can drive faith communities underground, creating higher risk, not compliance.

What's It Like to Live as a Christian in the Islamic Republic of Iran?https://t.co/RMz63Upgio

— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) February 9, 2026

Available data still has limits. Leaked case files and monitor reports indicate undercounting, while blackout conditions and fear of retaliation discourage reporting. Even so, the trend lines across independent organizations are consistent: harsher legal tools after 2021, a surge in arrests and sentencing by 2024, and heightened alert conditions during the country’s unrest. For policymakers and advocates, the immediate question is how best to pressure Tehran without empowering the same apparatus that crushes basic conscience rights.