[Jpost] Iranian intelligence shut down a Presbyterian church and removed its cross from the bell tower, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) announced Sunday, reported Radio Farda.The church was located in the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran and it belonged to the Assyrian community.
According to the report, the building was confiscated by the Revolutionary Court in 2011, but its members had been able to continue to use it until earlier this month.
"Intelligence agents stormed the 100-year-old church, officially recognized as a national heritage site in Iran, on Thursday, May 9, changed all the locks, tore down the cross from the church tower, and ordered the churchwarden to leave," Article 18, a non-profit organization based in London announced. The group's stated goal is the protection and promotion of religious freedom in Iran.
Eiko, the state agency responsible for the raid together with the Ministry of Intelligence, is under the direct control of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the report, the congregants were left in shock and have not been allowed to hold services in the building since the raid.
Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Assyrian community in Iran totaled approximately 200,000 people, Radio Farda noted.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
since then many have fled and in 2015 only 32,000 Assyrians were left in the country, mostly in Tehran.
"Many churches owned by Protestants have been confiscated," explained Article18’s advocacy director, Mansour Borji.