Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has declared a number of Persian-language Christian satellite broadcasters to be “hostile” actors, implying severe sanctions for any who watch them.
An anonymous Iranian Christian, writing for Open Doors, said a clampdown on Christian broadcasters was a blow to “one of the few remaining lifelines” for Christians in Iran.
The Iranian government has warned that “cooperation” with these “hostile” agents could lead to prosecution under espionage laws.
Open Doors currently ranks Iran as the 10th worst persecutor of Christians in the world. Conversion from Islam to Christianity is illegal and there are severe restrictions on Christian preaching in Persian.
Only Iran’s historic Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities are permitted to hold Christian worship services in Persian, although even these historic groups have faced repression, with the government recently seizing control of a 150-year-old church.
Churches are often raided and believers arrested. The situation has declined since the breakout of hostilities with Israel and the US, with Christians suspected of sympathising with the enemy.
Another Christian in the country spoke of the importance of Christian broadcasts, “There are so many people in Iran hearing the gospel for the very first time through these satellite TV programmes. When there is no church to visit, no Christian community you know, no Bible and no Christian materials available, these TV programmes become the only place where people can hear God’s Word.”
He added that the sense of isolation that comes with being a Christian in Iran is itself a part of the persecution.
“When you think you are the only Christian in your town or city, these programmes help you pray, hear God’s Word and realise you have not been forgotten; you are connected to a much bigger body of believers," he said.
“Many young people already don’t dare follow Christian pages on Instagram, or like or comment on Christian videos on YouTube. Even visiting those pages means using secure VPNs and carefully deleting search history afterwards. We are not even allowed to access Christian resources freely.”
According to Open Doors, despite the best efforts of the Islamic regime to suppress Christianity, the Church is still growing. Indeed, the group argues, if it were not growing, the regime would not feel the need to increase its repressive measures.
