Religious Minorities

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi has dismissed as untrue and politically-motivated the latest report by the US State Department about religious freedoms in Iran.

A Jewish Iranian lawmaker has warned the country’s adversaries that Iranians practicing various religions will stand by each other to defend the country and sacrifice their lives in case it is under aggression, just like they stood against the Iraqi aggression in 1980s.

Hundreds of Armenians gathered in Isfahan’s Vank Cathedral on Tuesday to mark the 103rd anniversary of what they refer to as the “Armenian Genocide”.

After registering three churches in the World Heritage List, Iran is trying to add other Armenian cathedrals like Isfahan's "Vank" to this list.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was celebrated in Tehran’s Holy Cross Chapel on Sunday, September 17.

The 49th edition of the Armenian Olympics was inaugurated in Tehran on Tuesday night.

The representative of Jewish people in Iran’s Parliament has strongly denounced the world’s silence towards the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, saying the Nobel Peace Prize should be taken back from Aung San Suu Kyi.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined that all Iranians should be treated equally under Islamic teachings and the country’s Constitution, calling for concerted efforts to prevent any harm to the national unity and dignity.

An Iranian parliamentarian has urged the Foreign Ministry to designate more women and Sunni ambassadors to other countries.

An Iranian Assyrian Christian lawmaker has rejected as baseless a recent US report on religious freedom violations in Iran, saying despite the US claims all religious minorities in the Islamic Republic enjoy absolute freedom to perform their rites.

Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF), an Iranian charitable organization, is providing support for thousands of Christians living in the country.

The representative of Zoroastrians in Iran’s Parliament has pointed to the inscription of the central city of Yazd as a world heritage, and hailed the peaceful coexistence of the three monotheistic religions of Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism in this city.

On the anniversary of the Mandaean New Year, the Sabians in southwestern Iran performed their baptism rite by immersing themselves in Karun River.

Each year from June 14–18, thousands of Zoroastrians from Iran, India and other countries flock to an ancient fire temple at Pir-e Sabz or Chak Chak village in central Iran.

An Iranian lawmaker representing religious minorities in the parliament has slammed the recent terrorist attacks in Tehran.

A Jewish lawmaker at the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) says Jews can freely practice their religion in Iran and have always enjoyed better living conditions in the Islamic Republic than in Europe.

Hundreds of Iranian-Armenians marked the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire at Saint Sarkis Cathedral and then the Turkish embassy in Tehran.

While Iran’s Guardian Council is opposed to the candidacy of religious minorities in City and VillageCouncils elections in Muslim-majority areas, Iranian parliament speaker says they can run for local votes in all parts of the country.

Up to 7,000 Christians get together for the 60th anniversary of regular yearly visits to Saint Thaddeus Monastery or Ghara Kelisa in northwestern Iran.