A horribly familiar description of the Iranian regime’s persecution of Christians and other minorities emerged from a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom published Friday.
“In Iran, the regime’s crackdown on Baha’is, Christians and others continues to shock the conscience,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
The U.S. has classified the Islamic Republic as a “Country of Concern” since 1999, because its regime violates religious freedom as defined by the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act (1998).
Richard Grenell, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, told FoxNews.com, “Freedom to believe and worship the way you want is a fundamental right. It is never acceptable for governments to punish or intimidate citizens for their religious beliefs.” Grenell, a devout Christian, is a former Fox News contributor.
The 30-page section on Iran appeared in the State Department’s 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom and was reviewed by FoxNews.com.
The section read in part: “Christians, particularly evangelicals and converts from Islam, continued to experience disproportionate levels of arrests and detention, and high levels of harassment and surveillance, according to Christian NGO reports.
Numerous Christians remained imprisoned at year’s end on charges related to their religious beliefs. Prison authorities reportedly continued to withhold medical care from prisoners, including some Christians, according to human rights groups.” [FOX News Network] Read more
