Iran: Regime warns Chaldean and Assyrian Christians not to participate in anti-government protests
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Christians belonging to the Chaldean Catholic Church and Assyrian Church of the East denominations in Iran have been threatened by state security forces not to join the ongoing nationwide anti-regime protests or even to post support for the uprising on social media, on pain of arrests and persecution, the Christian Post reports.
Despite deadly crackdowns by Iran’s ruling Islamic regime, the country has seen over 100 days of protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by “morality police’ in September for not wearing her hijab properly.
In statements to the International Christian Concern persecution watchdog organization, Assyrian community priests and Pastor Farshid Fathi, a former Christian prisoner, said Iran’s Islamic extremist regime has warned them not to get involved in the protests in any way.
“These [Christian] groups have been pressured for many years not to go against the regime for fear of being arrested or facing worse persecution,” ICC reported. “Because of this persecution, many Christians over the years have left Iran, leaving the dwindling Christian population smaller every year.”
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Iran has around 300,000 Christians, less than 1% of the population.
Iranian Christians belong to Latin Catholic, Armenian and Assyrian/Chaldean, and Protestant and underground evangelical congregations. Iran ranks 9th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2022 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.