By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post. (Image: Arad Adiban/Unsplash)
Iran has killed at least 33 Christian ministers and detained more than 130 others tied to an underground church movement in recent months as the government intensifies its persecution of Christians, according to a Texas ministry that supports house churches in the country.
Iran Alive Ministries disclosed the deaths and detentions. At least 33 Christian ministers connected to the ministry have been killed in recent months, founder Hormoz Shariat told Baptist Press.
The ministry gave Baptist Press the names of 20 people it says have been persecuted, four of whom died, but said it could not identify 156 others. Of 131 members it says were arrested, 14 remain imprisoned, some on death row.
Shariat said 114 of those arrested are unaccounted for, four face prosecution but have evaded arrest, two were released under surveillance and one remains under house arrest. Eight others have been released, he said, citing sources inside Iran.
The deaths and arrests followed civilian protests in January. Iran Alive said the government killed roughly 40,000 to 50,000 people in the crackdown. Published estimates of the toll vary widely, from 3,117 by Iran’s government to more than 36,500 documented by Iran International.
The government has also banned religious broadcasts and, starting in July, made listening to them a crime, according to several groups that track persecution of Christians, among them Open Doors U.S.
Open Doors lists Iran at No. 10 on its 2026 World Watch List, an annual ranking of countries where Christians face the most persecution, citing Islamic oppression and what it calls dictatorial paranoia.
Despite the crackdown, many Muslims in Iran keep converting to Christianity, Shariat said, citing 5,849 conversions recorded by Iran Alive this year alone, noting that the true number is likely far higher.