TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities are moving to confiscate St. Peter’s Evangelical Church, the country’s oldest Protestant church, ordering roughly 20 Armenian and Assyrian Christian families to vacate the 10-acre compound in central Tehran within weeks and instructing church members to find another place of worship.
The property, which includes the historic sanctuary, schools, and residential buildings that have housed members of Iran’s recognized Christian communities for generations, is set to be transferred to the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO), a state-controlled organization responsible for confiscating religious and private property. Church leaders said many of the affected families struggle financially and depend on support from the church community.
Intelligence agents recently spent several hours at the compound, telling residents they had come so the families could “become accustomed to our presence,” according to reports cited by International Christian Concern. Church leaders have reportedly been warned they could face arrest if residents refuse to comply with the eviction orders.
The seizure stems from a Revolutionary Court ruling issued in the late 1990s that transferred ownership of the property to EIKO. Church representatives have long challenged the ruling, arguing they were never properly informed of the decision and were denied a meaningful opportunity to contest it. Despite years of appeals, authorities have now begun enforcing the order.
The confiscation follows the seizure or closure of several other Protestant properties across Iran, including Presbyterian churches in Tabriz and Mashhad and an Assemblies of God church in Gorgan. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, authorities have systematically closed Persian-language congregations or forced them to abandon Persian-language worship. Only a small number of officially recognized Protestant churches remain open, generally permitted to conduct services only in Armenian or Assyrian.
Research published earlier this year by Article18 documented that Iranian courts sentenced 96 Christians to a combined 263 years in prison during 2024 — a sixfold increase in cumulative prison sentences compared to the previous year, with average sentence lengths increasing by nearly 40%. Several Christians received prison terms exceeding 10 years, typically on vague national security charges tied to house church gatherings or conversion from Islam.
The World Council of Churches has called on Iranian authorities to halt the confiscation of church properties, end intimidation of church leaders and residents, and protect the religious freedom of Iran’s Christian communities. The organization also urged governments and international institutions to engage diplomatically to preserve the country’s historic Christian presence. The U.S. Department of State has designated Iran a Country of Particular Concern every year since such designations began in 1999, citing systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.