Iran Ramping Up Persecution Against Christians as US Imposes New Sanctions
by Samuel Smith, Christian Post:
The hardline Iranian regime is responding to a new wave of sanctions imposed by the United States by increasing its grip on the nation’s oppressed Christian community, activists are warning.
Citing human rights experts with knowledge of the situation facing Christians in Iran, Benjamin Weinthal, a fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote a recent article highlighting how the economic sanctions re-imposed on Iran by the U.S. last week has “inadvertently led to a crackdown on its persecuted Christian community.”
With the Iranian ayatollahs looking to “consolidate their power” as the economic sanctions will further stoke unrest across the country, that has left Christians to face some of the “worst” persecution at the hands of the government.
Over the last few weeks, Weinthal noted, the plight of Iran’s Christian community “has become significantly worse” because the Iranian regime is using its judicial powers to persecute converts.
“Today, some of the worst persecution against Christians is meted out by the regime in Iran,” Peter Kohanloo, the president of the U.S.-based Iranian American Majority advocacy group, told Weinthal. “The new round of sanctions is putting the ruling mullahs under pressure, and they are lashing out by arresting evangelical converts.”
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