Photo Credit: Atta Kenare, AFP
The Iranian health ministry reported the passing of 251 COVID-19 patients on Sunday, the largest single-day death toll for the nation of 81 million people since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. The grim milestone raised the official total number of COVID deaths in Iran to 28,544, although experts believe the actual number to be two or three times higher. At least a half-million Iranians have tested positive for coronavirus, with more than 5,000 currently hospitalized in critical condition, making Iran the hardest-hit nation in the Middle East.
While the coronavirus continues to reek havoc on Iran’s economy and health care system, the United States Treasury Department announced economic sanctions against 18 Iranian banks, citing their role in circumventing previous sanctions imposed on the Iranian government. US President Trump’s administration has been gradually turning the economic screws on the Iranian regime and its supporting institutions as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign, hoping to force the ayatollahs in Tehran to the negotiating table in regards to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
Ongoing US sanctions against the Iranian regime, the coronavirus pandemic, and a significant drop in oil prices have combined to send the Iranian economy into a tailspin. The value of the Iranian rial has dropped more than 300% against the US dollar in 2020, with a single dollar exchanging for more than 300,000 rials last Saturday. That rate represents an increase of almost 5 percent from the day before, indicating the danger of hyperinflation. Brother M in the Iranian underground church gives a dire report regarding the general mood of the Iranian people. “They’re super-upset at the government, [but] they can’t do anything, because if they protest, they’ll be killed. There’s nothing they can really do…Everyone is super-paranoid [about COVID-19], no one’s walking on the street, [or] they’re walking at a distance.” Many Iranians blame the government for the coronavirus epidemic inside Iran, as the regime vastly underreported the number of cases in the early months of the pandemic, allowing the normal flow of traffic across Iran’s borders while hiding the extent of the spread of the disease.
CLICK TO PARTNER WITH THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH IN IRAN
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).
Meanwhile, M reports that the Iranian churches are taking action, distributing protective packs that include essential items such as alcohol wipes and ministering to those who have a greater need for healthcare during a time of lesser means. “No one has money…so we’ve been serving them this way.” However, the unprecedented opportunity for Iranian believers to provide a gospel witness does not come without an urgent need. M gave an impassioned plea to followers of Jesus in the Western churches. “There’s a cost to all this…our money is worthless and we have to buy things that are very expensive. Every morning you wake up and things have gone up [in price] many times. We really need help. God has blessed the Western church with finances, and God has blessed the Eastern church with perseverance and [willingness] to die and to take the brunt of persecution to spread the gospel to many places that Western people can’t go because of their passport. What God has blessed you [with], give to us, and what God has blessed us with - which is fire - we give back to you. And you get to partner [with us].”
The FAI staff asks our global family to pause at this moment and to lift up intercessory prayer during a critical moment inside of Iran. The coming weeks and months will be of significant consequence for the Iranian people, the Middle East, and the world. We also ask all of our readers to consider answering the need of M and other underground believers in Iran who need resources to continue planting the seeds of Good News in soil that has been ploughed up by crisis and chaos. You can click the graphic above to stand with the Iranian church.
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” - 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Maranatha.
