Iran’s security and judicial authorities have stepped up a crackdown on the Baha’i religious minority with arrests, home raids, and property seizures across several cities in the country, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.
Several Baha’i citizens have been arrested to date across Iran since nationwide protests began in late December, sources told Iran International.
Those arrested include Peyvand Naeimi, Borna Naeimi and Shakila Ghasemi in Kerman, southeastern Iran; Behzad Yazdani and his wife Romina Khazali, Mahsa Sotoudeh, Mandana Sotoudeh, Pejman Zare, Sara Sepehri and Anqa Siavoshi in Shiraz, southern Iran; and Flora Samadani in Yazd, central Iran.
Vafa Kashefi, Navid Zarrehbin Irani, Payam Faridian, Rabee Maleki and Sepehr Koushkbaghi were also arrested in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, while Riyaz Behrad was arrested in Karaj, west of Tehran, and Artin Ghazanfari in Tehran.
Many remain in detention and legal limbo, and there has been no new information about the release or continued detention of some of them, including Faridian, Maleki and Koushkbaghi.
Some other Baha’i citizens have also been arrested in recent weeks and temporarily released after posting heavy bail.
Seventy-two days after the internet shutdown in Iran, sources told Iran International that the real scale of arrests and pressure against the Baha’i community is far wider than the cases reported publicly, but disruption to the flow of information, threats against families and the security atmosphere have made access to precise information difficult.
Detainees held in limbo, families pressured
Several Baha’i citizens arrested in recent weeks and months remain in legal limbo, with no clear access to judicial proceedings, sources Iran International.
Families in some cases have been denied information about their relatives’ location, physical condition, charges or possible release dates, and have faced threats and pressure from intelligence agents when seeking answers.
Some detainees have had only brief contact with relatives, at times lasting just a few seconds, leaving families unable to assess their physical or mental condition.
Sources told Iran International that some detainees remain in custody despite families securing heavy bail, while new charges have been added in some cases.
There are also serious concerns about detainees with medical conditions or caregiving responsibilities, who have faced limited contact, shortages of medicine, inadequate medical care and restricted access to their families in detention.
The simultaneous arrest of relatives, prolonged legal limbo and threats against families seeking information have added to the pressure on Baha’i families, sources said.
Homes raided, property confiscated
The homes of all Baha’i citizens arrested in this wave were searched by security forces, according to information obtained by Iran International.
During the raids, security forces confiscated personal belongings, identity documents, mobile phones, laptops, computers, books and, in some cases, valuable property.
Sources said the searches were not limited to inspecting homes and in some cases involved ransacking residences and taking whatever officers wanted, from digital devices and personal documents to gold and jewelry.
On the morning of May 4, security forces raided the Shiraz home of Faramarz Nadafian and his wife, Parivash Nadafian.
Officers presented a handwritten warrant, searched the home and confiscated mobile phones, a computer case, books and even the family’s gold and jewelry.
A day later, on May 5, security forces raided the home of Afsaneh Jazzabi, also known as Rasekhi, a 66-year-old Baha’i citizen in Shiraz.
Sources said officers entered the home with a warrant titled “cooperation with Israel,” threatened and humiliated her and her 85-year-old mother, and confiscated items including books, frames, a mobile phone, a gold pendant and a gold chain without providing a receipt.
They also threatened the family with confiscation of their home and transfer to an unknown location, the sources added.
Prison sentences enforced
Alongside arrests and searches, authorities have continued enforcing prison sentences against Baha’i citizens, sources told Iran International.
Didar Ahmadi, Boshra Mostafavi and Elna Naeimi in Kerman, southeastern Iran, as well as Negin Khademi, Yeganeh Rouhbakhsh, Neda Badakhsh, Mozhgan Shahrezaei, Shana Shoughifar, Arezoo Sobhaniyan, Parastoo Hakim and Neda Emadi in Isfahan, central Iran, have been transferred to prison to serve their sentences, the sources said.
Baha’is face long-running persecution
Iran does not recognize the Baha’i faith as an official religion, unlike Christianity, Judaism or Zoroastrianism, although Baha’is constitute the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.
The community has faced systematic harassment and persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including arrests, confiscations, denial of education and lengthy prison sentences.
Iranian authorities have long accused Baha’is of links to Israel, partly because the faith’s spiritual center is in Haifa, where the shrine of its founder stands. Rights groups say such claims have been used to justify pressure on the community.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said in late December that it had identified a 32-member “espionage network” linked to Baha’i citizens, accusing them of “rioting and sabotage” and saying 12 had been arrested and 13 others summoned.
Officials also accused Baha’i citizens of spying for Israel during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June and opened cases against several members of the minority.
Nearly three quarters of documented violations against religious minorities in Iran over the past three years have involved Baha’is, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Mehdi Zahmatkesh, head of the Pharmacists Association in Razavi Khorasan province, told the state news agency IRNA that shortages were affecting medications for cancer, MS, dialysis, transplant, hemophilia, cardiac, respiratory and psychiatric patients.
“We have faced price increases ranging from 20% to 400% for some medicines,” Zahmatkesh said, attributing the worsening crisis to the removal of subsidized foreign currency and damage caused by the recent war.
The remarks add to growing signs of strain in Iran’s healthcare sector, where citizens and pharmacists have increasingly reported difficulties obtaining essential medication.
Pharmacies struggle with unpaid insurance claims
Pharmacies, Zahmatkesh said, were also facing severe liquidity problems because insurance providers had failed to pay outstanding debts worth between 500 billion and four trillion rials (between $283,000 and $2.26 million).
“With the sharp increase in medicine prices and delayed payments from insurers, pharmacies are facing difficulties supplying medicine for hard-to-treat patients,” he said.
Zahmatkesh urged insurance organizations to settle pharmacy claims within the legally mandated 45-day period so pharmacies can maintain enough cash flow to purchase medicine.
The official’s comments came days after Etemad newspaper quoted Iranian Pharmacists Association spokesman Hadi Ahmadi as saying medicine prices had increased between 30% and 300%.
Ahmadi linked the surge to shrinking government resources for subsidies and reduced capacity to support medicine production and imports.
Citizens report worsening shortages
In recent weeks, citizens have sent messages to Iran International describing worsening shortages, steep price increases and growing financial hardship.
“Medicine is impossible to find,” one citizen told Iran International. “After searching through 100 pharmacies, even if we find the drug we need, we have to buy it at full price because insurers haven’t paid pharmacies. It’s a disaster.”
Reports received by Iran International also point to rising shortages of psychiatric medication, with some patients and pharmacy workers saying people have been forced to stop or alter treatment because drugs are unavailable or unaffordable.
The latest complaints come as Iran continues to face high inflation, a weakening currency and deepening economic stagnation that have sharply increased living costs for many households.
Healthcare costs weigh on low-income families
Zahmatkesh called for broader insurance coverage to reduce the burden of healthcare costs on patients, particularly low-income families already struggling with inflation and declining purchasing power.
Despite a 45% increase in the minimum wage this year, according to Etemad, the sharp fall in the value of the rial has made treatment costs increasingly unaffordable for poorer households.
Information received by Iran International points to growing financial pressure across sectors including agriculture, fishing, retail and manufacturing after weeks of disruption linked to conflict, internet shutdowns and trade uncertainty.
The price of potassium fertilizer for a 50-kilogram sack has increased tenfold compared to last year, reaching about 70 million rials (around $40), one farmer told Iran International.
Rice farmers typically require around six sacks of fertilizer per hectare, sharply increasing cultivation costs at a time when many already struggle with falling incomes.
The farmer added that urea fertilizer prices have also risen severalfold in recent months.
Mehdi Hosseinizadeh, head of Iran’s Association of Pesticide and Fertilizer Importers, linked the increase in fertilizer prices on Thursday to damage suffered by some petrochemical facilities during the war and shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
Hosseinizadeh also cited rising import costs, shortages in global fertilizer markets, difficulties securing supplies from China and India, and problems related to currency allocation and import registration.
Another farmer had earlier told Iran International that the price of drip irrigation tape rose from 4 million rials ($2.25) to 30 million ($17), while fertilizer costs climbed from 8 million rials ($4.5) to more than 100 million ($57).
Drip irrigation tape is a thin polymer tube used in irrigation systems to deliver water gradually to plant roots and reduce water consumption in row crops.
Workers report layoffs and business closures
Citizens from several provinces described worsening conditions for workers and tradespeople during the ceasefire period following the conflict.
A fisherman from Qeshm island said he had been unemployed for several months and that falling prices for export fish had increased pressure on local fishermen.
Another resident from Sarbandar, Khuzestan province, described rising unemployment among port workers and shrinking household incomes.
“Everything I earn goes toward rent, transportation and a small amount of food,” the resident said.
Several citizens had previously told Iran International they were selling household goods, work tools and personal belongings to cover food and basic living expenses after losing jobs and income.
One former worker from Tehran said he had been unemployed for nearly three months after beginning work in the electrical equipment market.
“My financial situation has deteriorated sharply and daily life has become difficult to endure,” he said.
A florist from Arak said the prices of supplies including paper, glue, ribbons, boxes and floral foam had quadrupled over the past two months.
Residents in Kashan also described carpet factories shutting down and laying off workers.
Shopkeepers in several parts of Tehran, also reported widespread business closures.
