The U.S. State Department has classified Iran as a “country of particular concern” for “having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of Iran, see here.
“Iran ranked eighth hardest country to be Christian,” Article 18, January 18, 2023:
Iran has risen back to eighth place on an annual list of the countries where it is hardest to practise the Christian faith.
This marks a return to Iran’s 2021 ranking on the World Watch List, which is produced by Christian charity Open Doors International, after a year in ninth place.
For the past five years, Iran has oscillated between eighth and ninth place on the list.
This year, Iran has moved back above Afghanistan, which last year topped the list, even ahead of perennial “winner” North Korea.
The other countries in the top 10 are Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan.
Iran’s rise by one point in Open Doors’ scoring system was “mainly caused by an increase in reported violent incidents”, said the charity, “including an abduction”.
“The outlook for Iranian Christians, in particular converts from Islam to Christianity, is by no means improving,” Open Doors said….
