As Iranian authorities again restrict internet access and tighten their grip on dissent, Christians inside the country say they feel more cut off than ever from the outside world, even as they continue to worship, serve their neighbors, and quietly share the gospel. Diaspora pastors and ministries report only fragmentary contact with underground house churches, leaving many families and church networks unsure whether loved ones are safe.
Among those trying to bridge the gap is Presbyterian pastor and missionary Sasan Tavassoli, an Iranian-born convert to Christ who has long ministered to Farsi speakers through satellite television and online outreach. Tavassoli, whose conversion story and teaching ministry have been profiled by outlets such as byFaith, said one relative inside Iran recently thanked him for “being our voice” as protests and crackdowns roil the nation. While mobile networks and social media are frequently disrupted—especially during waves of unrest, as documented by internet observatory NetBlocks—satellite television still beams in uncensored news and Christian programming to the millions of dishes that dot Iranian rooftops.
Those intermittent connections are lifelines for ministries like Iran Alive, a Texas-based Farsi-language satellite channel founded by evangelist Hormoz Shariat. In a recent conversation with Baptist Press, Shariat described a paradox: conditions for Christians have grown harsher, yet more Iranians are turning to Christ. Economic pressure is intense, with sanctions, inflation, and corruption already squeezing families. Now, periodic internet shutdowns further disrupt businesses and banking, a loss that Iran’s own experts have estimated at tens of millions of dollars a day in past nationwide blackouts. Shariat and other ministry leaders say some of their limited online contact with house-church pastors is now dedicated to coordinating basic relief for believers who can no longer afford food or medicine.
The risks for those believers were underscored in a 2024 country report by the European Union Agency for Asylum, which noted that while historic Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities are formally recognized, converts from Islam are not and are often forced into secret fellowships in private homes, known as house churches. The report, drawing on multiple human-rights sources, described “repression” of converts, including arrests, travel bans, and pressure to leave the country, as well as “systematic employment discrimination” when a Christian’s new faith becomes known, sometimes after they are detained by security forces (EUAA). Open Doors’ World Watch List continues to rank Iran among the most difficult places on earth to follow Christ, primarily because of the state’s hostility to conversion and evangelism.
No one knows exactly how many Christians are now inside Iran, but a growing number of ministries and researchers believe the church is expanding rapidly despite repression. Baptist Press, citing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2026 report, notes that Christians, Jews, Baha’is, and other communities together make up about 0.3 percent of Iran’s roughly 88 million people, while estimates for the number of Christians alone range from several hundred thousand to a few million, most of them converts meeting in underground networks of house churches. Analysts with advocacy group Article18, which documents violations of religious freedom in Iran, say believers inside the country view recent political turmoil and regional conflict with “a mixture of emotions”: fear for their families, frustration with theocracy, and cautious hope that some form of change could bring greater liberty to worship.
Global Christian organizations are urging prayer and practical support. Global Christian Relief has published first-hand testimonies from Iranian believers who have been jailed for their faith yet continue to share Christ quietly and to disciple new converts upon release. Diaspora activists and pastors are working with human-rights advocates, policymakers, and church leaders to prepare for the possibility of a post-theocratic Iran, while also warning against disinformation and calling for verifiable reporting on abuses. For Christians worldwide, their appeals echo the New Testament’s call to “remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them” (Hebrews 13:3) and to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions” so that people may lead “a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1–2). In the words relayed by one pastor, Iranian Christians are asking their global brothers and sisters to keep praying that God will sustain them in the darkness, strengthen their witness, and in his time open a door for lasting peace and true freedom of conscience in their homeland.