• Converts face the biggest dangers.
• Whilst government surveillance is strongest in urban places, believers there benefit from greater anonymity, enabling them to gather with less scrutiny from their communities.  
• Although believers living in rural areas experience less direct monitoring by the authorities, the scrutiny from their communities is stronger. 

Sanaz* from Iran had an unusual path to finding Jesus. At first, she simply pretended to be a Christian. She’d heard that Iranian Christians were granted asylum in other countries, and she was desperate to leave after two failed marriages, drug abuse and no hope for her future. She decided to pretend to be a Christian – but God had other plans. 

“I encountered Jesus in a dream one night,” Sanaz says. “It was an amazing encounter. He talked to me and asked me to stay in Iran, because He had plans for me here.”

It wasn’t long before Sanaz chose to commit her life to Jesus – this time for real! “When I felt God’s love as a Heavenly Father, it really filled my empty heart,” she shares. “Jesus transformed my life; He gave me life!” 

And what was Jesus’s plan for Sanaz in Iran? To help transform other people’s lives, too. She had leadership training from Open Doors partners, and now serves 100 families with monthly food packages, as well as providing clothes, educational materials for children, and supporting women caught in drug addiction. “Jesus changed my life, and I witnessed and still witness how he changes people!” she says, with delight. 

Her ministry comes with a cost. Once, a group of boys attacked her with stones. Another time, the father of someone she was helping beat her up. “He said he will never let his family receive any help from infidels like me,” she says. But Sanaz stays faithful, counting the cost and persevering. 

“Please pray that God would bring more workers to the field as many are thirsty for the truth,” she says. “Pray that God would continue protecting me and all the sisters and brothers who are serving inside and outside our church as they face rejection and persecution yet continue fearlessly.” 

Saghar managed to escape the secret police, who wanted to arrest her for leading a house church. Here’s her astonishing story of courage and miracles .

Mojtaba from Iran was imprisoned for leading a house church. In this video, he shares how God used his imprisonment to help share the gospel with the least and the lost.

• Despite dropping a place in the World Watch List, the persecution of Christians in Iran has worsened slightly.  

• The conflict between Israel and Iran has intensified the oppression of converts, since they are often seen as sympathising with ‘the West’.  

• In the immediate aftermath of the ceasefire, at least 54 Christians were arrested in 21 cities – a significant jump compared to the 40 believers arrested in the previous six months. State media even went as far as to say that the 54 arrested Christians had committed espionage.  

• The television report suggested links between evangelical Christians and foreign intelligence services, a narrative that paints an entire faith community as a security threat, gravely adding to their vulnerability.  

Open Doors’ partners work in neighbouring countries to help Iranian believers with training, discipleship, trauma care and online ministry. Open Doors also raises prayer support for Christians in Iran.