Iran

>Execution is imminent, fear church sources >U.S., Britain urge Iran to spare pastor's life >Pastor seen accepting fate By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife RASHT, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- A young pastor of Iran's largest house church movement has told an Iranian court he will not "recant" his faith in Christ despite facing execution as early as Thursday, September 29, for abandoning Islam, church sources said.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian court has asked the pastor of one of Iran's largest house church movements to abandon his faith in Christ and return to Islam if he wants to avoid execution, a church official told BosNewsLife Sunday, September 25.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Christians were urged Saturday, September 24, to "fast and pray" for an Iranian pastor as an Iranian court was to "re-examine" within hours whether he should be hanged for converting from Islam to Christianity.  

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian court that earlier sentenced evangelical pastor Youcef Nadarkhani to death for "apostasy", or abandoning Islam, will "re-examine" his case later this month, a mission group with close knowledge about the case confirmed to BosNewsLife, Wednesday, September 15.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran on Tuesday, September 6, ordered five Iranian Christians, including a heavily pregnant woman, to report to prison on charges linked to their Christian activities, a mission group working in the region said.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- The pastor of a major evangelical house church network in Iran was free Friday, September 2, after a family member guaranteed the required bail money of 30,000 dollars, Christians with close knowledge about the case said.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran has released a Dutch-Iranian pastor who was jailed for 359 days on charges of spreading Christianity among Farsi-speaking Iranians and relations with foreign organizations, well-informed Iranian Christians said Wednesday, August 31.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- The whereabouts of an evangelical pastor in Iran remained unknown Saturday, August 27, some 10 days after he was detained by Iranian security forces as part of a reported government crackdown on Christian converts, BosNewsLife established.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian authorities seized thousands of Bibles in north-west Iran and destroyed a church in the Islamic country's south-east as part of a wider crackdown on Christianity, Iranian Christians said in messages monitored by BosNewsLife Tuesday, August 16.