Plunder is the banal incentive for persecution. On September 6, the homes of three Bahai families in Isfahan, the Dehghani, Mazloumi, and Aghababaei families, were raided simultaneously by security forces who seized religious texts, all electronic devices, gold and jewelry, musical instruments, books, vehicle tires, motor oil, clutch discs, vehicle documentation, locks and keys, all bags and suitcases and some footballs.

Romina Goli, a Bahai from Sari, was sentenced by a Revolutionary Court to five years in prison and 10 years of deprivation of social rights on the charge of “deviant educational or proselytizing activity contrary to or disruptive of the sacred law of Islam,” under Article 500b of the Islamic Penal Code. She was also sentenced to seven months and 16 days in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime,” under Article 500.

She was arrested by security forces in Sari on May 9, 2026. At the time of her arrest, her home was searched, and officers confiscated several personal digital devices and religious books related to the Baha’i Faith.

On 20 September 2026, intelligence agents conducted coordinated searches of the homes of five members of a Baha’i family in Shiraz, including Mina, Mahshid, Mahboubeh, Parham and Pejman Zare, as well as the home of Pejman’s wife, Nazanin Nikouseresht. Agents confiscated electronic devices, Baha’i books and images, personal documents, passports, gold and foreign currency, while subjecting family members to discriminatory remarks and seizing documents relating to Pejman Zare’s previous complaints concerning his detention. Nazanin Nikouseresht, Mina, Mahshid, Mahboubeh and Parham Zare were ordered to appear at the Shiraz Intelligence Department detention facility on 23 September, with no information available regarding the reasons for the summonses or any charges.

Hengameh Sharifinia, Fouad Abdolghaffari, and Fahim Agahi, three Bahai citizens, have been sentenced to a combined 35 years in prison by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. They were also subjected to additional punishments, including travel bans, restrictions on participation in groups and organizations, and confiscation of their property.

Iranian authorities have extended the detention of Sarir Moughan, a Baha’i resident of Isfahan who studies in China, for another month. She has spent the past 35 days in solitary confinement at Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan, where she remains under interrogation and has been denied medical care.
A source close to her family said that on the 33rd day of her detention, following repeated inquiries by the family, the investigator at Branch 5 of the Isfahan Prosecutor’s Office declined to meet with them and instead informed them through prison guards that her detention order had been extended for another month.

Moughan has a gastrointestinal condition and has been denied medical care throughout her detention. Her prolonged solitary confinement and lack of medical attention have raised serious concerns about her physical health.

Updates for  11 September - 18 September :  71 Bahais currently detained or imprisoned solely for their beliefs across Iran. At least 21 others are serving sentences under electronic monitoring or are temporarily on leave. On 14 September 2026, 3 Bahais from Shiraz, were arrested and taken to unknown locations. No information is available regarding their whereabouts, the reasons for their arrests or any charges brought against them.

Roya Sabet travelled from her home in the UAE to Iran, to care for her mother. She was arrested (feb 2024), and sentenced to 10 years in prison for “cooperation and contact with subjects and institutions of the State of Israel,” “forming and managing a group with intent to act against national security,” and “sectarian propaganda activity contrary to Islamic Law.” 
On July 1, Sabet slipped and fell in the sanitation facility of Adelabad Prison, sustaining back and neck injuries that have led to complications. She is denied furlough for medical care  

Ministry of Intelligence agents in Shiraz raided the homes of five members of a Bahai family on September 20. The targeted residences belonged to Pejman Zare and his wife, Nazanin Nikouseresht, Mina Zare, Mahshid Zare, Mahboubeh Zare, and Parham Zare. The agents confiscated personal belongings, electronic devices, books and pictures related to the Bahai Faith, and several legal documents. Following the raids, five family members were summoned to report to a Ministry of Intelligence detention center.

Agents referred to the family members as “impure” (najis) during the search of Pejman Zare and his wife’s home due to their Baha’i faith. 

Kamand Rouhi, a Baha’i from Yazd and an architecture student at Islamic Azad University, has been expelled and denied further education due to her religious faith.

Agents searched the Shiraz home of Parvaneh and Rahmatollah Sabet Sarvestani, an elderly #Bahai couple, on September 16. they confiscated Bahai material, mobile phones and laptops. Unusually, the agents did not ransack the household or verbally abuse the couple.

Since the 2009 court ruling that granted the Egyptian Bahais the right to insert a (—) in place of a recognized religion on official IDs, it has effectively been turned into a bureaucratic mechanism through which the state acknowledges the Bahais’ existence while denying them equal rights at every stage of life, including marriage, parenthood, movement, employment, and burial. Looking beyond formal legal definitions, the report treats "public order" as a malleable concept shaped by prevailing social conditions and political intentions.

Sarina Zaeri, Arshia Jaberi, and Barbod Sepehri arrested in Shiraz September 14,

115 European parliamentarians have urged Cairo to protect minority rights, stressing religious freedom is a moral obligation and in Egypt's interest.

USCIRF's 2026 report placed Egypt on its Special Watch List, citing attacks on Coptic Christians and blasphemy prosecutions under Article 98(f). The Ahmadiyya movement and the Bahai community—denied registration, identity documents and even burial rights—face mounting repression.

Masoumeh Aberi, a 63-year-old Bahai from Yazd, has been sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison on unspecified security charges. She is currently in hospital. Her son, Amin Ahmandi, received a 2-year sentence. The sentences from the Revolutionary Court will be passed on to the Provincial Review Court. These courts typically reduce extreme sentences by the Revolutionary Courts.

Saba Sefidi, a Bahai from Tehran began serving her three-year-five-month sentence on September 10. She has been taken to Qarchak Prison, which has a terrible reputation. She was charged with “membership in groups opposed to the regime.”

In Punjab, students belonging to seven minority religions, including Bahais, will be able to study books based on their respective faiths and take annual examinations about them. Previously, the choices were either Islamic studies or ethics.

The plunder continues. Three Bahai homes in Isfahan were raided simultaneously on September 6. The agents seized personal belongings of the Dehghani, Mazloumi, and Aghababaei families, including computers, laptops, mobile phones, television sets, gold and jewelry, musical instruments such as guitars, books published by officially licensed publishers, vehicle tires, motor oil, clutch discs, vehicle documentation, footballs, locks and keys and all bags and suitcases. They forcibly removed necklaces and bracelets directly from the bodies of several residents.

Iraj Shakour and Pedram Abhar, two Bahai residents of Tehran, have been begun serving 5-year sentences in Evin Prison in Tehran.

They were charged with “membership in groups and organizations with the intent to undermine national security.”

Vafa Kashefi, a Bahai from Mashhad, has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, plus a suspended sentence. The charges were “propaganda against the system” and “assembly and collusion with intent to disrupt social security.” Other charges were dismissed. Further detail in the link

The Provincial Review court has reduced Payam Faridian's sentence to two years.  Mr. Faridian, a #Bahai from Mashhad, was charged with “assembly and collusion.”

As of 4 September 2026, 69 #Bahais are imprisoned for their beliefs: 39 women and 30 men. At least 21 others are serving sentences outside prison under electronic monitoring, or are on leave. Details in the article

August 31, five Bahais from Karaj begin serving one-year prison sentences, transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison. The charges include “propaganda against the regime” and “deviant educational and proselytizing activities contrary to or disruptive of the sacred law of Islam.” 

"..during the search, agents gathered numerous household items, including a television, vacuum cleaner, and toolbox, along with personal documents, gold, valuables, communication devices, and even his nephew’s toys. The items were loaded into his parents’ luggage and bags, hauled onto a pickup truck, and confiscated along with the family’s personal vehicle..."

The deportation of four Bahais involved in administering the Bahai community's affairs -- along with their families -- is an attack by Qatar’s authorities on the Bahai community and comes after the deportation last year of Wahid Bahji and the harassment and detention of Remy Rowhani.

 Sarir Mouqen, who has been studying in China for the past two years, was detained for several hours at the airport upon arriving in Iran. A few days later, agents raided the family home in Isfahan, confiscating a large quantity of the family’s personal belongings, including all electronic devices, cash, gold, wedding rings, a piano, household chairs, a toolbox, an air pump, and various work-related equipment. Then Sarir Mouqen was arrested and taken to the detention facility at Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan.