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Iran Arrests 13 Baha'is, Accusing them of Proselytising

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (file/Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (file/Reuters)
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Iran Arrests 13 Baha'is, Accusing them of Proselytising

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (file/Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (file/Reuters)

Iran said it had arrested 13 adherents of the banned Baha’i faith accusing them of proselytising to children and adolescents, local media reported, drawing condemnation from an international organization representing Baha'is.

A statement on Saturday by the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence unit, carried by state media, said the arrests were made in the central city of Isfahan, Reuters reported.

It said the 13 arrested “were acting illegally and were indirectly promoting their ideological deviation by exploiting children and adolescents.” It did not elaborate.

The Baha'i International Community, which represents the faith worldwide, said in a statement that the arrested women "were facilitating simple children’s classes – arresting them is the equivalent of arresting people for teaching Sunday school."

Simin Fahandej, Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the UN in Geneva, described the arrests as a senseless act against innocent women.

Last month a group of UN special rapporteurs expressed serious concern at what they described as a rise in systematic targeting of Baha'i women in Iran, including through arrests, interrogation and enforced disappearances. The Iranian government responded that Baha'i women faced no restrictions.

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Israeli Spy Chief Hands Court Scathing Rebuke of Netanyahu Bid to Sack Him

Israeli Security Agency director Ronen Bar attends a memorial ceremony of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year -. GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS/File
Israeli Security Agency director Ronen Bar attends a memorial ceremony of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year -. GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS/File
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Israeli Spy Chief Hands Court Scathing Rebuke of Netanyahu Bid to Sack Him

Israeli Security Agency director Ronen Bar attends a memorial ceremony of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year -. GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS/File
Israeli Security Agency director Ronen Bar attends a memorial ceremony of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year -. GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS/File

The head of Israel's domestic intelligence service said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bid to sack him followed his refusal to fulfil requests that included spying on Israeli protesters and disrupting the leader's corruption trial.

In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, said that Netanyahu's March move to dismiss him was not based on professional grounds but was prompted by unmet expectations of personal loyalty to the prime minister.

In response, Netanyahu's office said it would soon deliver a detailed refute of Bar's affidavit, which it called "false". Netanyahu's move to sack Bar fuelled protests in Israel and was suspended by the Supreme Court, after political watchdogs and opposition lawmakers argued the dismissal was unlawful. Critics say that the government is undermining key state institutions and endangering the foundations of Israeli democracy. Netanyahu's Likud party has accused Bar of acting against the prime minister and turning parts of the Shin Bet service into "a private militia of the Deep State." Israel's government has backed Netanyahu, who said that he had lost confidence in Bar over the agency's failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, a security failure that had led to the country's deadliest day, Reuters reported.

But in the unclassified part of his affidavit, Bar argued that the quest to oust him began more than a year after the attack. He cited a series of events between November 2024 and February 2025, which he said appeared to prompt the prime minister's moves against him.

Bar also said he refused to sign off on a security request aimed at preventing continuous testimony by Netanyahu at his corruption trial. Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing, began testifying in his long-running court case in December.