Middle East

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran has released a man who was jailed and tortured for activities linked to his recent conversion to Christianity, but concerns remained Monday, August 8 about two other detained believers, Iranian Christians said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An evangelical pastor who faces execution in Iran for refusing to abandon his Christian faith has urged fellow believers to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and the “Word of God” despite persecution, according to a letter obtained by BosNewsLife.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BosNewsLife)-- A car bomb exploded Tuesday, August 2, outside a Christian church in northern Iraq, injuring at least 23 people, police said.    

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (BosNewsLife)-- Two Indian Christians of a thriving Pentecostal house church in Saudi Arabia were back in their home country Sunday, July 24, after they were unexpectedly released by Saudi officials from an overcrowded prison, a church official confirmed to BosNewsLife.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An Iranian house church Christian was spending another day in brief freedom Thursday, July 21, after he was temporarily released from jail following the payment of a bail amount of some $101,000 in local currency, Iranian Christians said.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran's Supreme Court says Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani can be executedif he does not recant his faith in Christ, according to a written verdict released by rights activists Wednesday, July 13.    

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- The United States has condemned reported plans by Iran to execute an Iranian pastor if he does not abandon his faith in Christ, BosNewsLife established Tuesday, July 12.  

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Iran have challenged reports that the death penalty for Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has been annulled, saying the Supreme Court appears to have added a precondition requiring him to renounce his faith, or face execution, a religious rights group said Wednesday, July 6.

By Joseph DeCaro, BosNewsLife International Correspondent TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- An influential Iranian official has accused "enemies of Islam" of donating money to the rapidly growing house churches in the strict Islamic nation.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with reporting from Iran TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iran's secretive supreme court has reportedly overturned a death sentence handed down to an evangelical pastor for leaving Islam, surprising trial observers who were earlier informed about an execution ruling.