Iranian Christians among the dead and missing following violent crackdown

Christians in Iran have called for urgent prayer as believers are among the dead and missing following a violent crackdown by the authorities.

Protests that began on 28 December 2025 have been joined by millions of people across Iran’s 31 provinces. Some estimate that around 2,000 people have been killed in the government response, but this figure could be far higher.

Barnabas Aid contacts report that at least 11 believers are among the dead in Fasa, a city in the south-west province of Fars.

Contacts in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, have told Barnabas Aid that 55 church members are missing. It is not known whether they are being held by the authorities or whether they have been killed.

This follows the arrest of at least ten Christians in Fars in the first week of January.

Christians scapegoated

The Iranian authorities have blamed the protests, which are largely driven by high inflation and economic pressures, on foreign “enemies”.

These “enemies” include Farsi (Persian)-speaking Christians, who as converts from Islam are considered enemies of the state and are often charged with national security offences.

“The authorities have labelled peaceful protesters as ‘enemies of God’ and ‘foreign mercenaries’ to justify mass slaughter,” said an Iranian Christian.

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“In this atmosphere of paranoia the Iranian government is using the Christian minority as a strategic scapegoat,” he continued.

“By linking house churches to the ‘economic riots’ they seek to frame the uprising as a conspiracy of foreign interference.”

Despite the repression, believers from Iran’s “house churches” are working to provide medical care to those who are wounded and injured but fear the consequences of attending state-run hospitals.

Systematically silenced

Receiving updates from Iran “is becoming nearly impossible” said Barnabas Aid’s Projects Manager with responsibility for the country.

“The authorities have implemented a sophisticated, multi-layered protocol where only state-approved institutions can access the web,” he added.

“Iran is effectively severed from the global community.

“We have had next-to-no communication for days; however, within the past 24 hours, we managed to receive a few brief, frantic calls from partners using short-wave radio and illegal satellite links.

“These calls were short and plagued by interference, but the message was clear: the situation is far more dire than the occasional leaked video suggests. These few minutes of contact are our only window into a nation being systematically silenced.”