It is with a heavy heart that we share that a young believer has died in Iran after he had been severely beaten by a relative who objected to his strong faith in Christ. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. According to Christian friends, he was a courageous believer who demonstrated a wonderful and contagious faith in Jesus. Though it has been unbearably hard, the church is determined to continue serving the Lord. They told the pastor, “We will continue to come to the church meetings. We will stand with you.” For the security of his family and other believers, we cannot share more details. Please pray, however, for the wife and children, the house church he leaves behind, and for his example to bring more people to Christ. A church leader in Iran commented, “These days we are seeing many wonderful things happen in Iran. At the same time we are under attack. It is getting intense and we need continued intercession.”  ELAM News

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran received notification that he will be executed on charges of “apostasy” – conversion from Islam to Christianity – and is now awaiting the court’s final verdict. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, a church leader in Rasht, Iran, was arrested on October 13, 2009 for questioning the Islamic education practice of Christian students – including his own children – to be required to read the Quran in school. His execution, initially scheduled for October 24th, was postponed to an unknown date by security forces in hopes that Youcef will renounce Christ and return to Islam. In a letter to the international Christian community, Pastor Youcef took courage and consoled believers around the world: “What we are bearing today, is a difficult but not unbearable situation, because He has not tested us more than our faith can endure… We must consider these bumps and prisons as opportunities to testify to His name.” Full Story Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Full Letter

Neshan Saeedi, a 27-year-old Christian, has not been seen since his arrest by government authorities in July. On July 24, Saeedi was at home with his wife and young daughter in the city of Ahvaz, Iran, when plainclothes security officers entered his house and arrested the family. Security officers searched the home and seized personal belongings, including a computer, CDs containing films of Christian seminars and teachings, Christian books, Bibles and family photo albums. The family was taken to the Chaharshir detention center in Ahvaz, where they were interrogated for several hours before Saeedi’s wife and daughter were released. Officers threatened Saeedi’s wife, saying if the family continued its Christian activities their daughter might be taken away. The family was accused of threatening Iran’s national security by participating in anti-government activities. Full Story

On Thursday July 18th, a bus carrying 15 newly-converted Christians was intercepted by government security forces in Iran. The group were on their way to the provincial town of Bojnoord to spend time with fellow believers there, when their bus was forced to stop in the city of Mashhad, the capital of the north-eastern province of Khorasan. Sources suggest that the security forces had prior knowledge of the trip, as their efforts to stop and board the bus and arrest all those present seemed well coordinated.

The Christians were all transferred to a central detention center, where they were held for a week and subjected to harsh interrogation. After posting bail and signing statements, thirteen Christians from the group were conditionally freed.

Two of those arrested, Stephen Reza (48) and Eshan Behrooz (23), remain in detention after they would not post bail or sign any forms. At the time of writing, their whereabouts and condition were unknown, no formal charges had been announced and the prisoners had been denied access to legal representation.