You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
“One sister locked herself inside her home out of fear. She cannot sleep at night, is highly traumatized, and cannot stop crying. Please pray for us.”
This is one of the desperate prayer requests that Iranian Christians recently shared with Open Doors in the wake of the nationwide deadly protests and the ensuing deadly crackdown by the state.
After nearly two weeks of near-total internet shutdown, limited connectivity has slowly returned in Iran. At first, many hoped this restoration would bring relief. Instead, it has brought deeper shock. As images, videos and testimonies emerge, the Iranian people and a watching world are realizing the reality is much darker than what many feared.
New reports indicate that over 36,500 people have been killed since the start of the protests across the nation, while other sources like HRANA, state the number of approximately 23,000 people deceased so far. In both assumptions, the numbers are frightening. It is the deadliest repression Iran has witnessed since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Though it’s been reported that Iran’s streets have been scrubbed of any sign of violence or mass dissent in an attempt by the government to reassert control, our contacts shared that after a month of surveillance and violence, Iranian civilians are still living in fear under a cruel and authoritarian regime:
• Families say they are being charged large sums of money to receive the bodies of their loved ones. Reportedly, authorities have forced grieving parents to sign false death certificates declaring their child was part of the security forces and was killed by protesters or died of natural causes. Refusal to sign means no body, no burial and no closure.
• Even with the internet restored, fear governs every message. Families of the dead have been warned not to speak. People have been told not to post or comment, or even like or follow protest-related content. Our contacts tell us that phones are monitored, and silence is enforced.
• Across the country, families are desperately searching for loved ones as parents move from hospital to hospital, from prison to prison. In cases of arrest, families are often extorted for exorbitant bail amounts; yet even when the money is gathered, many detainees are never freed.
• According to trusted sources, young people are being held in large shed-like detention facilities, executed in secret, and then later reported as “killed during protests.”
• There has also been a new wave of arrests targeting house churches and Christians in Iran. Now, even meeting a Christian friend feels dangerous. Gathering as a house church is almost impossible.
• Online ministries, already risky, are now under intense monitoring. Even quiet phone conversations with pastors or leaders abroad are filled with fear. Christians know that during times of unrest, the government often looks for groups to accuse of collaboration with Western countries or “acting against national security.”
Open Doors recently spoke with Iranian Christians (living both inside and outside the country) who shared how we can be praying as a response to what has happened and is happening now inside the country—in the aftermath of what has been called a systematic national massacre:
An Open Doors partner shared the story of a refugee Christian couple known for their online ministry who were suddenly summoned by immigration authorities. Without warning, they were taken to a detention camp and told they were a “threat to national security.” Despite hiring lawyers, they were informed that deportation back to Iran is being considered.
If returned, families with public Christian ministries would face immediate persecution from the state. “Please keep them in your prayers,” our partner pleads. “Pray for this couple, and for all those in the camp who may be sent back, especially in the current situation in Iran.”
Maryam*, a Christian woman who’s serving the underground church in Iran, shares: “Please pray for our people. What they have seen with their own eyes and heard with their own ears has deeply affected them. Please also pray for [those of] us who serve Christians inside Iran. Ask the Lord to give us discernment and wisdom to know how to pray, how to guide, and how to comfort. We are affected, too, by what we hear and carry.”
Majid* a Christian brother, asks for prayer for his parents and brother: “I managed to speak with my family after two weeks of dark thoughts. Praise God they are alive, but they are not well. Even their voices are different. I heard that my brother has been kept in prison for 10 days and beaten up to death. They were afraid to share more details because of monitoring.”
Ziba*, another sister, pleads: “Please share your experiences with us. When your countries faced war, how did you pray? How did you survive spiritually? The church in Iran wants to be salt and light in this moment. We want to bring truth and hope to our nation. But after years of oppression done in the name of God, we fear how people will respond to the gospel. Please pray that God shows us how to love our community with the hope of Jesus.”
*representative names used for security reasons
