ISFAHAN, IRAN — Iranian authorities have imprisoned three Baha’i citizens in Isfahan, underscoring the Islamic Republic’s entrenched campaign against religious minorities. The three individuals were sentenced to two years in prison after initially receiving five-year sentences, their punishment based solely on their allegiance to the Baha’i faith rather than any proven criminal conduct, according to independent human rights reporting.
Authorities accused the detainees of ‘spreading propaganda against the regime,’ ‘promoting groups opposed to the Islamic Republic,’ and—crucially—membership in such groups, with ‘membership’ referring in this case merely to the detainees’ Baha’i religious identity. Advocacy organizations, including IranWire and the Baha’i International Community (BIC), report that such charges are routinely used by the regime to target Baha’is and other minorities, who are viewed with deep suspicion by the Iranian clerical establishment.
A Systematic Campaign of Oppression
The Baha’i faith, founded in 19th-century Persia, emphasizes universalism and peace. Yet since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, successive Iranian governments have treated its adherents as heretics, stripping them of rights and protections. Discrimination against Baha’is is institutionalized: they are denied access to universities, government jobs, burial sites, and freedom of association. According to BIC data, at least 1,000 Baha’is face ongoing restrictions or imprisonment, with families often enduring surveillance, harassment, and economic deprivation.
The charges against the three Baha’is in Isfahan are emblematic of this larger trend. Iran’s judiciary relies on broadly worded, ideologically-driven accusations of ‘propaganda’ to justify detention and imprisonment. Trials are often closed to outside observers, with scant evidence beyond the assertion of religious affiliation or private prayer meetings. Human rights lawyers note the near-total absence of due process for Baha’i defendants, who face threats and intimidation at every stage.
International Condemnation
Iran’s conduct has attracted near-universal condemnation from the West and major international bodies. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran has documented the seizure of Baha’i property, the systematic exclusion of Baha’i youth from higher education, and the frequent harassment of Baha’i small-business owners. The U.S. Department of State and the European Union have both demanded Tehran release all prisoners of conscience and end its criminalization of peaceful religious practice. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch cite Iran’s anti-Baha’i campaign as central evidence of the Republic’s ongoing human rights crisis.
Moreover, official Iranian state media has intensified anti-Baha’i propaganda, characterizing adherents as foreign agents and ‘Zionist’ sympathizers, especially since the Baha’i World Centre is located in Haifa, Israel. This narrative serves to both reinforce internal repression and justify the regime’s broader anti-Western posture, casting Baha’is as a convenient scapegoat for national insecurity and external threats.
Religious Persecution Reflects Broader Intolerance
The plight of the Baha’is does not exist in a vacuum. Iran’s persecution of religious minorities forms part of a wider pattern of ideological intolerance and authoritarian control at home, while promoting terror networks and destabilizing activities abroad. Partners and observers, including Israel, monitor these developments with concern: the same regime that imprisons minorities for their beliefs finances terror organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah and seeks regional hegemony through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s refusal to recognize or protect basic religious freedoms stands in stark contrast to Israel’s democracy, where minority groups—including the Baha’is—are protected under law. While Baha’is are targeted as apostates and spies within Iran, in Israel they maintain their global religious headquarters and practice freely, reflecting a core divergence in values and governance between the two nations.
Continuing Abuses and the Call for Accountability
Advocates stress that the three Baha’is now in prison are only the latest victims of a decades-long campaign. Their arrest and sentencing send a chilling message to the estimated 300,000-strong Baha’i community in Iran that expression of faith itself is grounds for criminalization. Regional and international organizations urge sustained diplomatic scrutiny and targeted sanctions as the only effective means of pressuring the regime to uphold universal rights guaranteed under international law.
As the world’s attention remains focused on the complexities of Iran’s foreign interventions and its pursuit of hegemony in the Middle East, the domestic suffering of its minorities remains both an urgent humanitarian concern and a barometer of the regime’s uncompromising ideology. The unjust imprisonment of three Baha’is in Isfahan is therefore not only a local news story, but a vivid demonstration of the costs of unchecked theocracy, with ramifications far beyond Iran’s borders.
