IRGC Intelligence Claims Arrest of 10 Baha'i Citizens in Tehran and Alborz Provinces

The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC in Shahriar claimed to have dismantled "an anti-security and propaganda network of the misguided Baha'i sect" in western Tehran and Alborz provinces. On Thursday, November 9, the Fars news agency, close to security institutions, reported that 10 individuals have been arrested in this regard, according to Fayyaz Elahiari, the commander of the Amir al-Mu'minin Basij in Shahriar. This official did not mention the identities, timing of the arrests, or the location of detention for these individuals. Recently, human rights sources reported the arrest of 14 Baha'i citizens, including the parents of two young children in the cities of Karaj and Hamedan. According to the news agency HRANA, which is affiliated with human rights activists in Iran, government agents arrested five citizens named Iman Ehsani, Eryn Rahmani, Foad Ta'ifi, and Reza and Fahimeh Yazdi in Karaj on Tuesday, November 7. The report states that the arrest of Iman Ehsani and Eryn Rahmani has resulted in their two children, aged 2 and 4, currently being cared for by relatives of the Baha'i couple. Simultaneously, nine Baha'i citizens were arrested in Hamedan, and the homes of at least 24 Baha'is residing in this city were also searched by government agents. According to HRANA, the inspections of these Baha'i citizens' homes were accompanied by "insults and verbal violence" and "beatings," with government agents seizing some personal belongings, documents, jewelry, and religious books. Farhad Sabetan, a spokesperson for the Baha'i International Community, stated that the religion, beliefs, and thoughts of Baha'is are the sole reason for their arrests by the Islamic Republic's agents. The Baha'i International Community recently stated in a statement that the issuance of prison sentences against Baha'i citizens is an increasing pattern of persecution against Baha'is in Iran and called on the international community to hold the Iranian government accountable for human rights violations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also expressed concern over the intensifying pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to arrest Baha'is. The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the Baha'i faith, and Baha'i citizens in Iran have systematically faced executions, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the 1979 revolution.