Iranian authorities escalate pressure on Baha’i families in Shiraz

Hengaw – Saturday, May 9, 2026

Iranian authorities have escalated pressure on Baha’i families in Shiraz in recent days through a series of home raids, confiscation of valuables, and threats against family members.

Based on information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, government forces raided the home of a Baha’i couple, Faramarz Nedafian and Parivash Nedafian, on the morning of Thursday, May 7, 2026. Agents presented a handwritten warrant before carrying out a several-hour search of the house and confiscating personal belongings, including mobile phones, a computer case, and several books. Reports also indicate that officers seized the family’s gold and jewelry during the raid.

In a similar incident, four security agents, including three men and one woman, raided the home of 66-year-old Baha’i resident Afsaneh Jazabi (Rasekhi) in Shiraz at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The agents presented a warrant citing the accusation of “collaboration with Israel” before searching the house and confiscating personal belongings, including books, religious images, a mobile phone, and gold items, without providing any legal receipt.

Hengaw has learned that during the raid on Jazabi’s home, agents interrogated and threatened her over the human rights activities of her children abroad. Officers reportedly used degrading language and threatened both Jazabi and her 85-year-old ill mother, who suffered a drop in blood pressure during the incident, with confiscation of their home and transfer to an undisclosed location. They were ultimately forced to sign a statement declaring that no property damage had occurred during the raid.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights strongly condemns these medieval-style practices and emphasizes that the confiscation of valuables alongside politically motivated accusations reflects a growing pattern of systematic plunder and religious persecution targeting minorities in Iran.