Iran has intensified its crackdown on religious minorities, targeting Baha'i and Christian communities with arrests, raids, and harsh prison sentences. According to an expert from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, new legislation against so called cults has enabled authorities to impose prison terms, heavy fines, and long term deprivation of civil rights for practicing minority faiths. Recent arrests of Baha'i members and Christian leaders signal a broader pattern of repression following unrest and conflict earlier this year.

The Baha'i community, the country’s largest non Muslim religious minority, remains unrecognized under the constitution and has faced decades of systematic discrimination. Human rights advocates report coordinated home raids, arbitrary detentions, property confiscations, and denial of education and employment. Individual cases, including that of a mother sentenced to eight years in prison for charitable work, highlight how vague national security charges are used to silence members of the community.

Christian converts have also faced growing pressure, with security forces raiding private gatherings, confiscating personal belongings, and subjecting detainees to intensive interrogations. Observers say many convictions rely on broadly defined security accusations with little supporting evidence, reflecting what rights groups describe as an entrenched pattern of religious persecution.