Iran

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian Christians on Monday, March 1, were searching a Christian couple after they were detained by Iranian security forces for apparently leading an unauthorized house church, BosNewsLife learned.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An evangelical pastor and eight other Christians were behind bars in Iran Friday, February 26, after authorities closed their church as part of a new government crackdown on devoted Christians in the Islamic nation, rights investigators said

By BosNewsLife Center with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos BAGHDAD/CAIRO/BEIJING (BosNewsLife)-- Rights investigators said Wednesday, January 13, there has been "a surge ofattacks" against Christians since December, with deaths, detentions and destruction reported in the Arab world, Africa and Asia.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian court forced a Christian convert with a Muslim background to sign a confession that she is "mentally unstable" and placed her under three months of house arrest in the city of Mashhad, 850 kilometers (530 miles) east of the capital Tehran, trial observers said.

By BosNewsLife News Center with BosNewsLife's Senior Special Correspondent Johan Th. Bos reporting from the Netherlands AMSTERDAM/WASHINGTON D.C. (BosNewsLife)-- One of the world's largest mission agencies, Open Doors, named North Korea and Iran Wednesday, November 6, as "the worst persecutors of Christians".

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- A Christian mother jailed in Iran was apparently still prevented from meeting her family Monday, January 4, nearly three weeks after she was detained by police for allegedly contacting foreign Christian broadcasters.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Iran on Wednesday anticipated a difficult Christmas after security forces reportedly raided a worship gathering and detained two of the group's leaders.

(CHANGING LEAD, ADDS BACKGROUND AND DETAILS) By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran on Wednesday, November 18, released two young Christian women who faced execution or at least life imprisonment for converting from Islam to Christianity.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Two young Christian women who faced execution or at least life imprisonment in Iran for converting from Islam to Christianity were to be released as early as Tuesday, November 17, after international pressure and prayers, their representatives told BosNewsLife.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife CAIRO, EGYPT (BosNewsLife)-- A gathering of Christian leaders from across the Middle East that was to be held in Egypt next month has been postponed due to "security concerns," organizers confirmed to BosNewsLife Saturday, November 14.