The Islamic regime in Iran has confiscated St Peter’s Evangelical Church in Tehran, founded in 1876 and described as the country’s oldest Protestant church, and evicted 27 Armenian and Assyrian Christians, around 20 families, from its compound.

The Islamic regime in Iran has confiscated St Peter’s Evangelical Church in Tehran, founded in 1876 and described as the country’s oldest Protestant church, and evicted 27 Armenian and Assyrian Christians, around 20 families, from its compound.

The ten-acre property contained the historic church, two schools, residential homes and offices belonging to Christian institutions including the Bible Society and Council of Evangelical Churches of Iran.

Two UN experts say most of the families were low-income, long-term residents who were given just two weeks to leave, while church leaders were reportedly threatened with arrest if they refused to comply.

The experts warned that the seizure forms part of a “decades-long pattern” targeting Iran’s Christian community, particularly Persian-language Christian worship.

Iran once had around 50 Protestant churches offering services in Persian. The UN experts say effectively none do so today, while at least 79 Christians are currently detained or imprisoned in Iran, the vast majority converts.

Reported by Visegrad24