Jailed Catholic woman's hunger strike highlights Iran religious persecution — US demands action

The State Department condemned Iran’s intensified repression of Christians, including a Catholic pistillate connected hunger onslaught successful a situation known arsenic 1 of the astir brutal successful the theocratic state.

The Trump medication connection connected wide quality rights violations carried retired by the Iranian authorities coincides with caller subject strikes against it successful effect to Tehran’s attacks connected commercialized tankers successful the Strait of Hormuz.

The Christian pistillate connected hunger onslaught is 42-year-old Ghazal Marzban, who sits successful Iran’s infamous Evin situation successful Tehran, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Iran sentenced Marzban, a Catholic, to astir 10 years successful situation for practicing her Christian faith, Iranian experts told Fox News Digital. Marzban’s carnal health, arsenic of precocious May, had deteriorated. Her existent information is not known.

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Ghazal Marzban sits successful Iran’s infamous Evin situation successful Tehran, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Iran sentenced Marzban, a Catholic, to astir 10 years successful situation for practicing her Christian religion according to Iran experts. (Article 18)

It is unclear if the medication plans to ramp up unit connected Iran’s leaders for their widepsread persecution of spiritual minorities and opponents of the regime.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We are alert of these reports. It is reprehensible that the Iranian authorities continues to persecute spiritual minorities, including Iranian Christians."

Article 18, an enactment that promotes spiritual state successful Iran, noted that pursuing Marzban’s conversion, the Islamic instrumentality postgraduate was banned from taking her barroom introduction examination. Her husband, who besides converted to Christianity, has been denied medicine for his Parkinson’s disease, according to Article 18.

Fox News Digital sent a property query to Iran’s U.N. Mission astir Marzban and the plight of practicing Christians successful Iran.

Iranians stitchery portion blocking a thoroughfare during a protestation successful Tehran, Iran connected Jan. 9, 2026.   (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

The State Department spokesperson said, "In Iran, quality rights and cardinal freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion oregon belief, are wholly ignored. The authorities targets members of spiritual and taste number groups and uses tactics similar arbitrary apprehension and torture to intimidate opponents and soundlessness dissent."

After the authorities reportedly murdered arsenic galore arsenic 45,000 Iranian demonstrators wrong a 48-hour play successful January, including arsenic galore arsenic 22 Iranian Christians, the information forces of the authorities arrested immense numbers of protestors.

Reports accidental the Iranian authorities is seeking the eviction of families from the St. Peter's Church compound, Critics accidental it sends a wide connection of intimidation to the wider Christian community.  (Article 18)

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President Trump has cited the fig of 45,000 Iranians killed by the regime. The State Department told Fox News Digital that Iran’s leaders should escaped those protesters inactive successful detention.

"We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the radical of Iran and telephone for the contiguous and unconditional merchandise of each governmental and wrongfully detained prisoners, including those facing persecution for peacefully exercising their cardinal freedoms," said the State Department spokesperson.

Lisa Daftari, an adept connected Iran who is the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital that the associated U.S.-Israel elimination of the erstwhile Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, successful February, "Hasn’t eased pressure. On the contrary, we are seeing much escalation and the implementation of adjacent much hardline influences."

Daftari said the "Arrests of Christians jumped from 139 successful 2024 to 254 successful 2025, alongside longer and much predominant sentences. At slightest 11 radical received implicit a decade. After the caller war, authorities claimed they had ‘neutralized’ 53 elements, which is however they notation to evangelical Christians. That is due to the fact that the Islamic Republic views conversion arsenic a information threat."

Hengaw, an enactment that monitors quality rights violations successful Iran, reported connected its website connected July 3 that the authorities plans to prehend the St. Peter Church successful Tehran. Daftari said, "This is simply a ample Christian compound with schools and household homes, and astir 20 Armenian and Assyrian families are being expelled nether a Revolutionary Court bid that’s been sitting unused since 1998."

Iranian authorities are reportedly evicting each those surviving successful the compound of the church. (Article 18)

When asked astir a argumentation effect from the U.S., Daftari said, "If there’s going to beryllium a response, it has to beryllium targeted. That means sanctions connected the circumstantial judges, quality officials and IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] actors progressive successful cases similar St. Peter Church and Marzban. And the transportation of religion spot to entities similar EIKO [a concern empire controlled by the precocious Khamenei] should beryllium treated arsenic authorities seizure, not an interior ineligible matter, and raised accordingly successful planetary forums."

Ramin, whose existent sanction cannot beryllium disclosed owed to "security reasons," an adept for Open Doors, a planetary Christian enactment that immunodeficiency persecuted Christians, told Fox News Digital, "The threatened confiscation of St Peter’s Evangelical Church successful Tehran is profoundly concerning and should not beryllium viewed simply arsenic a spot dispute. It reflects a wider and long-standing signifier of unit connected Iran’s Christian communities, including recognized historical churches, Protestant communities, converts and reported cases involving Catholic converts."

Ramin added, "St Peter’s is 1 of Iran’s historical Protestant churches, and the reported eviction of families from the compound sends a wide connection of intimidation to the wider Christian community. Together with the arrest, detention and sentencing of Christian converts, including those from Catholic backgrounds, this shows that the Iranian authorities proceed to dainty the peaceful Christian religion arsenic a information interest alternatively than arsenic a basal close to state of religion oregon belief."

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Mansour Borji, the enforcement manager of Article 18, told Fox News Digital that "The targeting of Christians whom the founders of the Islamic Republic viewed arsenic an ideological menace began from the earliest days of the revolution. This included some Catholic and Protestant communities. Within days of the 1979 revolution, the Rev. Arastoo Sayyah, an Anglican priest, was murdered successful his office. Foreign missionaries were expelled wrong the archetypal twelvemonth and Christian schools, hospitals and churches soon came nether expanding pressure."

He added that, "Since 2008, Article18 has documented galore confidential cases involving the arbitrary apprehension of Catholic converts, harassment of religion leaders, visa denials for clergy, the revocation of citizenship from a long-serving bishop and the confiscation and demolition of religion property."

A billboard depicting Iran's ultimate leaders since 1979: (L to R) Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) is displayed supra a road successful Tehran connected March 10, 2026. Iran marked the assignment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to regenerate his begetter arsenic its ultimate person connected March 9, 2026.  (AFP/Via Getty Images)

Borji continued, "The caller determination against St. Peter’s Church is truthful not an isolated incidental oregon a caller development. It is portion of a long-standing signifier of systematic unit connected autarkic Christian communities. The Islamic Republic is simply a totalitarian authorities that has consistently sought to suppress immoderate instauration oregon assemblage that operates extracurricular its ideological control."

In the aftermath of the intensified persecution of Iranian Christians, helium warned that "If the Islamic Republic regains the capableness to task its ideology with renewed confidence, the consequences are apt to widen crossed the portion and beyond."

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He urged that perpetrators "face targeted sanctions, visa restrictions and plus freezes nether existing quality rights mechanisms."

Borji said that "Governments, particularly successful the EU, U.K. and different commercialized partners, should besides marque spiritual state a accordant portion of their engagement with Iran, alternatively than treating it arsenic a secondary issue. Appeasing a authorities that persecutes its ain radical has seldom produced moderation."