Two United Nations experts have called on Iran to explain its confiscation of St. Peter’s Evangelical Church in Tehran, considered the country’s oldest Protestant church.
The approximately 10-acre property, owned by the Council of Evangelical Churches of Iran, included homes, two schools, and offices used by Christian organizations. Around 20 Assyrian and Armenian Christian families were reportedly evicted from the site.
UN Special Rapporteurs Mai Sato and Nazila Ghanea sent an official communication to Iran in July expressing concern that the seizure was part of a broader pattern affecting Christians, particularly Persian-speaking believers.
Other church properties across Iran have reportedly been confiscated, closed, demolished, or repurposed. While Iran once had around 50 Protestant churches offering Persian-language services, effectively none remain today. Three Anglican churches permitted to preach in Persian have reportedly remained closed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
