Mehr News Agency, which is a semi-official mouthpiece of the Iranian Regime, announced in an exclusive report on Saturday that a group of evangelical Christians have been arrested. The group was accused of being “Zionist Christian” and that they used Iranian names to conceal their identity. No other information was released in the report regarding who these individuals are.

It is not unusual for Iran to publicize the arrests of Christians as part of a deterrence strategy to keep the church underground and Muslims from converting. Iran defines itself as an Islamic Republic, thus Christianity is often regarded as an inherent threat to the country’s security. Only traditional ethnic churches and their followers are officially recognized.

No accurate numbers exist on how many Muslims have converted to Christianity in Iran, but it is widely believed that a substantial part of the population has become Christian. The harshness of the Islamic Regime, coupled with a deteriorating economic situation, has caused many Muslims to question the faith which they were assigned at birth. The regime is well aware of this situation, and representatives have repeatedly spoken out against converted Muslims in public forums.

Source: Persecution