Iranian Security Forces Raid Baha’i Homes, Arrest Six People

Iranwire – Iranian security forces raided at least 13 homes of Baha’i citizens across the country on Monday and arrested six people in an escalating crackdown on the religious minority.

The coordinated early-morning searches targeted Baha’i residences in Tehran, Shiraz, Sari, and other cities.

Agents confiscated phones, laptops, religious texts, and photographs during the raids.

Among those arrested in Tehran were Hengameh Sharifi, Fahim Agahei, and Fowad Abdolghaffari, who were detained after their homes were searched.

The charges against them and their current locations remain unknown.

In the northern city of Sari, authorities arrested Adib Rahmani, a young Baha’i who has been denied access to higher education.

His arrest came days after Mohammad Bagher Mohammadi, the Friday prayer leader of Sari, told a public culture council meeting that Baha’is operate intelligence and espionage networks for Israel and should not be allowed to return to Iran or reclaim their property.

Two other Baha’is in Mazandaran province, Sonia Todiyi and Shahram Kashaninejad, have been in temporary detention for several weeks following earlier arrests by Intelligence Ministry agents.

In Shiraz, security forces arrested Negar Misaghian and Shakib Farzan on Monday.

Misaghian, who has a prior arrest record, was detained in front of her young child and taken to the Intelligence Ministry detention center known as Plaque 100.

Agents searched Farzan’s home and confiscated personal belongings before transferring him to the same facility.

Two other Baha’is in Shiraz, Ferdin Bengaleh and Afshin Haghighat, were arrested six days earlier and remain in custody.

Security agents also searched homes in Semnan and Zahedan on Monday, confiscating electronic equipment, communication devices, and religious materials from residents Armaghan Enayati and Saman Eslami.

In Tehran, agents arrived at 7:30 a.m. at the home of Shabnam Chaboksavar, displaying a physical search warrant before preventing her from leaving to conduct a thorough search.

They confiscated her cellphone, laptop, books, and religious photographs.

Homes of other Tehran residents, including Matin Agahi, Noura Nouzdahi, and Arouna Kowsari, were also searched.

Reports indicate the raids were conducted in ways that created fear and anxiety among family members present during the searches.

The arrests and raids reflect a sharp increase in security and judicial actions against Iran’s Baha’i community over the past four months.

Many Baha’is have faced workplace and home searches, trials, arrests, and prison sentences during this period.

The crackdown comes one month after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the intensified persecution of Baha’is in Iran.