Iran

>Evangelical refugees targeted >Execution threats linked to Iranian security forces >Move expected to add pressure on Pastor Nadarkhani By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Militants with suspected ties to Iranian security forces have threatened to kill nearly a dozen evangelical Christians who fled Iran unless they "repent" and return to Islam, well-informed sources told BosNewsLife early Sunday, October 2.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian court has sentenced a young evangelical Christian to one year imprisonment and two years exile to a remote border town for his involvement in evangelism and house churches, Iranian Christians told BosNewsLife Tuesday, August 20.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Two more evangelical Iranian Christians faced uncertainty Saturday, September 6, after they were charged with the potentially death-sentence carrying crime of "Mofsed-e-filarz" translated as "spreading corruption on earth", Christian rights activists told BosNewsLife.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- A well-known Iranian pastor faces execution after two judges agreed to make him "liable to capital punishment," as part of a crackdown on the growing Protestant church movement in the Islamic nation, BosNewsLife learned Tuesday, July 13.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- A young Iranian man who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment after converting from Islam to Christianity has been released from jail, Iranian Christians and activists told BosNewsLife Monday, November 4.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with additional reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian Christian convert has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on what his supporters say are false charges linked to his evangelical church activities, local activist said Tuesday, August 6.  Mohammad-Hadi (Mostafa) Bordbar, a 27-year-old resident of the city of Rasht, was "tried by Judge Pir-Abbasi on the morning of June 9, 2013 in branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran," amid a wider government crackdown on spreading Christianity in Iran said Mohabat News, an agency of Iranian Christian and activists.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Families and friends of five Iranian Christians detained during a picnic and fishing expedition in Iran say they are "deeply concerned" for their welfare and are "requesting prayer," BosNewsLife learned.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Prominent Iranian house church pastor Behnam Irani is still beaten in his prison but less frequently, an official assisting him with advocacy said late Monday, May 14, just weeks after his family expressed concerns he may die.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Twelve Christians are to stand trial in Iran on Easter Sunday on charges including "crimes against the order", an activist assisting them with advocacy told BosNewsLife.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- There was mounting concern Sunday, August 18, over the health situation of an Iranian-born American pastor and another evangelical leader who were among those sentenced to long prison terms in Tehran on charges that friends link to their Christian faith.