Iranian authorities move to seize Tehran church property and evict resident families

Iranian authorities have threatened to seize Tehran’s St. Peter Evangelical Church and evict the 20 families living on the property. Security forces have already entered the premises to identify residents ahead of the eviction.

The church was founded by American Presbyterian missionaries in 1872. It serves as housing for low-income Christian families. Part of the compound, including a 2.5-square-acre garden now occupied by four Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials, has already been taken.

The orders originated with the state-affiliated Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order group. The group is issuing a new deed for the property after confiscating the church’s documents and issuing replacements in its own name. Iranian authorities have also refused to renew the church’s operating license.

Sasan Tavassoli, an Iranian Presbyterian pastor in the United States, quoted officials as saying they no longer fear American retaliation. “We were concerned about America all these years. America came.

They slapped us on the face. We slapped them on the face back. And then America withdrew. So we are no longer afraid of America,” he said. Sargez Benyamin, executive secretary of the Synod of the Evangelical Church of Iran in Diaspora, said the church has no legal recourse because Iran lacks an independent judiciary.

The property is valued at tens of millions of dollars, according to Tavassoli. Worshippers face arrest if they remain after eviction orders take effect. The Center for Human Rights in Iran recorded more than 300 arrests of Christians in Iran in 2024.

At least 96 prosecuted Christians received sentences totaling 263 years in prison that year. Amnesty International documented dozens of property seizures from Baha’i, Christian, and Jewish individuals in 2025.