Iran | 07 July 2025
24 June 2025
Christians among prisoners transferred after airstrike on Evin Prison
Following an airstrike on Iran’s Evin Prison, Christians are among those transferred to another location. Please pray for them, and other believers imprisoned for their faith in the country, amidst tensions in the region.
Amidst tensions between Israel and Iran, an airstrike struck the gates of Iran’s notorious Evin Prison in the capital Tehran – a place where at least 11 Christians are believed to be detained for their faith.
The prison has long been Iran’s primary prison for housing political detainees and security prisoners, and holding executions. Several high-profile foreign prisoners are held there, along with Christian converts who have been given sentences such as ‘acting against the national security through propagating house churches and promoting Zionist Christianity’.
Among those who’ve spent time in the prison are Christians we’ve recently requested your prayers for, including Joseph Shahbazian, Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Amir-Ali Minaei.
It’s unclear to what extent people have been hurt by Monday’s airstrike, but according to Article18, some of the Christians have since been transferred to the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary, where they are being held in unsanitary conditions in overcrowded cells, with as many as 40 prisoners in each.
Meanwhile, many families have been forced to flee several big cities, and many Iranians are now internally displaced due to the crossfire. A Christian family has opened their home to displaced people from Tehran. On that first night, through a simple prayer around the dinner table, two families heard about Jesus and chose to follow Him. Consistently, when darkness surrounds, heaven’s light always moves – crafting beauty, bringing hope and preparing dawn.
“We thank you for standing with us – your prayers, your encouragements, they reach us in the darkest corners. Please keep praying. There are still so many thirsty souls waiting to hear that they are loved, chosen, and free,” shared Roya*, a young Iranian Christian woman.
Thank you for your ongoing concern for our persecuted family in the wake of fluctuating tensions in the region. Please keep them – and the wider situation – in your prayers, and please keep an eye on our news stream for any further news we can update you on.
*Name changed for security reasons
Please pray
- For the safety of all people, and that the Holy Spirit will fill the hearts of imprisoned believers with the ‘peace of God, which transcends all understanding’ (Philippians 4:7)
- That Christian prisoners will continue to be a light and a good witness to other inmates
- That God will comfort the hearts and minds of families who have lost communication with their loved ones because of the conflict.
Stay in touch!
You can get the latest information, prayer requests and testimonies from the persecuted church around the world by signing up for regular Open Doors emails. It’s an opportunity to unite in praying the prayers asked for by our brothers and sisters of the persecuted church.