Iran In Turmoil Amidst COVID, Explosions, Crackdown // FAI ONLINE

An Iranian medic treats a patient infected with the COVID-19 virus at a hospital in Tehran (Credit: Koosha Mahshid Falhi, Mizan News, via AFP)

The nation of Iran is reeling after a surge in COVID-19 deaths and a series of explosions at sensitive military sites across the country. Official Iranian state statistics place the number of new cases of Coronavirus at 11,273, including 948 COVID-related deaths, in the past five days alone. However, the Wire received a report from an FAI source within the Iranian underground church describing a situation that is far worse. The actual Coronavirus death toll may be five or six times higher, with the vast majority of serious cases going undiagnosed and unreported. Iran has been one of nations hardest-hit by the pandemic, as the Iranian government refused to acknowledge the rapid spread of Coronavirus in their nation in February and early March, leading to a spike in cases before a general lock-down was finally declared.

Meanwhile, two more explosions have rocked Iran in the past three days. The first occurred at a “residential complex” in the capital of Tehran on Saturday, as fire crews responded to what state media described as an accidental “gas cylinder” explosion. Another explosion was reported on Monday morning at a gas producing facility in the eastern Khorasan province. There have been 11 such explosions inside Iran over the past two weeks, more than half of them in and around Tehran. FAI’s source told the Wire that, despite the claims of state media, there is a general consensus across the Iranian public that the explosions are the work of Israeli Mossad and American CIA agents, possibly in collusion with Iranian dissidents, targeting various military sites related to nuclear weapons and missile development. The Iranian regime has vacillated between reports that the explosions were accidents and threats of retaliation against foreign governments that may have been involved. Several “foreign agents” were reportedly arrested in the southeastern Iranian town of Kerman on Monday.

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Click on the graphic to learn how you can partner with our sister organization, Global Catalytic Ministries (GCM), in intercession, advocacy and giving. GCM is laboring to grow and feed the flock of Jesus in Iran through Disciple Making Movements (DMM).

As coronavirus, sabotage attacks and economic woes continue to plague Iran, the regime has increasingly vented its anger on those whom it sees as convenient scapegoats. Agents of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been targeting Christians in a wave of arrests across the country this month. The most recent victim, Mrs. Maliheh Nazari, had come to faith in Jesus during her eldest son’s battle with cancer. Security forces raided her home and arrested her, incarcerating her in the notorious Evin Prison, where she has very limited contact with the outside world. Maliheh’s family maintains her innocence, stating that her only “crime” was her attendance in Christian prayer and worship meetings. Maliheh’s arrest comes after the arrest of 12 other Christians in three cities across Iran at the beginning of July.

We ask our global family to be in urgent prayer for Iranian believers and their nation at large. Iran is entering a very precarious time, with immense pressure being exerted on its Islamic government from both inside and outside the country, prompting its radical leadership to react with increasing brutality as its grip on power is threatened. We pray that the Spirit would blind the eyes of the authorities to His work amongst the people of Iran, as the gospel continues to bear fruit there. We pray that Iranian believers facing persecution would be granted divine joy, peace and courage to endure. We pray for world leaders to be granted wisdom in their dealings with the Islamic republic. We pray that the demonic forces which are stoking conflict and war would be restrained, and that their schemes and plots would be exposed and thwarted. You can also directly support the underground believers in Iran and their labor to reach that troubled nation with the gospel by clicking on the graphic above.

Maranatha.